"Some will sell their dreams for small desires
Or lose the race to rats
Get caught in ticking traps
And stop to dream of somewhere to relax their restless flight"
(From the song Subdivisions by Rush, lyrics by Neil Peart)
We live in a very unique time, in a world that is becoming increasingly smaller as it gets more and connected by the world wide web. Never has there been an age like this where if you have a dream of starting a company, a product or service that is innovative, add in some marketing savvy and some net know-how along with a heaping dollop of hard work you can make yourself known, and sell, in a global economy. It's literally changed the concept of the "small to midsized business" (SMB) market, and how they can create revenue streams.
Here is a real life example of how this played out right in front of my eyes. I had a client at the former marketing firm I worked at that was a solid local band in central Illinois. They had a strong local following, and considering every member had a day job they had a steady supply of performance dates, but the band's leader and founder had a dream of going to the next level.
Our firm became engaged with the band and after studying over 100 popular and successful muscial artists websites and identifying certain key points and functions, a dynamic new online presence was designed and established and the marketing launched the band into a much larger world and gave them exposure to an entire globe of potential fans. Music lovers can be searching on YouTube and see live concert clips of the band, or even a music video, explore further and see additional songs online, be linked to their website and subscribe to a forum where they can interact with other fans and the band themselves. New potential fans can go onto iTunes, sample some songs and then download their catalog of music from anywhere in the world. On their website people can get connected on to a platform that sells the bands merchandise, including CDs, t-shirts, hats, etc., and get an up to the minute booking schedule to find out where they are playing next. While this is all really cool, what were the results? First and foremost the internet gave them exposure to the point where they were being contacted by music reviewers as far away as London, England, and they were selling songs and mp3 albums to people halfway across the world in China, as well as being talked to by new fans all across the United States.
Think about that for just a minute.
Now put yourself back in time 30 years ago, if the band were yours to guide and direct. How would a talented band from a midsized midwestern city ever be able to conceive of selling their albums to a worldwide market? Many, I would wager, would not even think about someone in Asia listening to their songs, they would have been focused on pounding through show dates in small venues, hoping to make it to a larger metropolitan stage and maybe, just maybe, being discovered in a one in a million shot by an agent who could then really start to build a regional following. The odds of selling music globally would still be a long ways off.
As I said, we live in an amazing time.
The quote at the beginning of this post is from my all time favorite band, who I have seen in concert more times than I should probably admit. When they started way back in the 70's things were certainly different, more like the scenario I just described, and they defied the odds and became a huge success with an enormous world wide following. Their chief lyricist, drummer Neil Peart, has written many lines that have stuck with me over the years, and this one is powerful to me in many ways, but what I have always taken away from those words ultimately is to NEVER sell dreams for small desires, to never settle for less than what can be.
There are people out there right now that either have a business and a dream of where they want to take it, or maybe they just have the dream itself of starting a business, and my message is don't give up, give in or settle. There has never been a time like today when a small business can not only succeed, but can make a splash globally! The internet is the great equalizer, where the SMB market can absolutely leverage the same technology and tactics to reach far beyond their walls into a local market, from a local market to a regional market, from a regional market to go national and from there, who knows?
If you have a business dream you are passionate about and you want to see it flourish, don't let go and don't lose the race to rats, or get caught in the day to day grind of being a slave to the ticking trap of the 9 to 5 job. Pursue the dream fully realized, not just the sell out of the small desire. Will it be hard work? Yes! Will it take some time? Sure. Will their be struggles, ups and downs and challenges? You can bet there will be. All that said, if you are out there right now wondering if you can keep your business going, wondering if you can weather the storm that our economy is going through right now, or thinking it might be too difficult to launch out right now, let me just encourage you to not give up. Right now with the technology we have and the strategy we can produce you can do more marketing than ever, you can reach more people than ever, and you can be more creative than ever and do it without breaking the bank, destroying your budgets and sinking your company. Learn the lesson from a group of small town, talented band mates who can now say that they sell their music to the world! I'll leave you with one more gem from Neil Peart for further inspiration (any chance to quote Rush, ha!):
"You can do a lot in a lifetime
If you don't burn out too fast
You can make the most of the distance
First you need endurance
First you've got to last..."
(From the song Marathon by Rush, lyrics by Neil Peart)
Let's make the most of the distance, avoid the fast burn out and hold on to the dream!
Doug
