We want more out of business. We want more out of the way we consume. The easy path to getting that “more” seems to be adding.
Add a bit of “one-on-one,” add a pinch of “organic,” add a dose of “artisan,” add a dash of “local.” We layer more & more of the good stuff on top of what already exists.
But when do we make time for questioning what already was? When do we strip down business to its very basics? When do we throw out the definition, the “how-to” of what business is supposed to be to find out what business could be?
It’s not enough for the You-Centered Economy to support business-as-usual with a flair for the Other. The You-Centered Economy requires us to get down to the heart & soul of commerce.
While many of us are supporting ourselves on businesses that were built to nurture us, and many more of us are working towards that goal, I believe we have not yet gone far enough. I believe there is more to question, more to redefine, more to tear down & then build back up.
My question to you is:
What would business look like if you had never been taught how to do business before?
What would your business look like if you forgot the sales training, marketing advice, and branding help you’ve experienced? How would your systems be different? How would you communicate differently?
How would your day-to-day interactions with clients & potential clients be different if you stripped away all the “supposed tos” and just concentrated on what felt truly, divinely right?
Got an inkling? Don’t worry if your answer isn’t fully formed. Scroll down to the comments and leave me a little note: What would business look like if you had never been taught “how to” do business before? And what are you going to do about it?
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It’s about time you learned your place in the New Economy (hint: it’s right at the center!). Get serious about your role. Create a business that serves you and serves others. Join me.
Well, I’m not sure, but I believe it would be more spontaneous & organic, less hesitant to try new things. I’m sure that I’ve learned some ‘bad’ behaviors from my previous retail experiences. I’ve been taught to not trust myself, even that I’m just not good enough.. .I know that these bits of ‘advice’ came from fear, knee jerk reactions to keeping their own positions safe, more about them than me & that I did what I did VERY successfully, but I am still stuck with a feeling of not being worthy, hesitant to move.
Business would be divinely grounded. My art would be beautiful and I wouldn’t have to sell it – it would sell itself.
If I had never learned to fear the idea of business as something formal and aloof maybe I wouldn’t feel so out-of-my-depth whenever I venture into business territory. I’d love a change of mindset to be at home, relaxed and playful – in a You/Me/We/Us type economy. I think my business would reveal a little more of my real-life rambling creativity and rather less of the (unnaturally) tidy me that my website presents… Wouldn’t it be lovely to escape perfectionism and to thrive just because of leaving it behind!
I suppose for me I’d try to keep it simple. I would give my absolute all to be as awesome as I could, and to create product/services as awesomely as I could – and then tell folks about it in a down-to-earth, authentic way. This is what I try to do anyway, and is the only way I really feel comfortable selling anything.