That’s the secret to surviving economic downturns. A fascinating article in today’s NY Times on how NY City survives so well in recessions includes this quote:
The secret of New York’s post-1970 reinvention was that smart people, who knew each other and learned from each, innovated in ways that made billions in financial services.
(Looking at the last 4 words of the sentence may bring doubt to its wisdom.)
Regardless, the truth remains that smart people who know each other and can learn from each other will innovate ways that will make us…hundreds of thousands, or millions or billions or…trillions. Trillions is what we need to rejuvenate our economy.
Ok. So how’s this wisdom applied for small business in small towns? ( NY City is not included in the universe of small towns. )
What about trust? Small business in small towns know each other. And they have skills and talents and resources to help each other. They also share the most important, and most undefinable, element: trust.
However, the universe of potential resources may be limited.
And now with social media….blogs and twitter and youtube and rss feeds and google reader…our community of smart people grows exponentially into a global community of resources we need and those who need the resources we can provide.
The secret to surviving downturns…is to surround ourselves with other smart people, get to know each other, learn from each other and innovate ways to make billions in [something other than financial services…].
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About the Author: Zane Safrit’s passion is small business and the operationsí excellence required to deliver a product that creates word-of-mouth, customer referrals and instills pride in those whose passion created it. He previously served as CEO of a small telecom service provider in rural Iowa. Zane’s blog can be found at Zane Safrit. His radio show can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/zane-safrit. And he twitters at zanesafrit.
What you need is a “COOP” of collective Rural towns that can each “specialize” into groups of experts that can lower the costs of more higher prices “experts” in larger cities. Read the 4 Hour Workweek and you can see the writing on the wall that rural areas can tap into. I hope I can help with my area of expertise.
That’s an excellent idea!