In Business or Career Community is Key

Welcome back!

So many of us are trying to build a business or career right in the communities where we live.  We want to enjoy our homes and neighborhoods and we want to be close to our kids while they’re at school.  So…to kill the commute or abolish daycare we try to find jobs near home or start our own businesses close to home.

Part of the strategy to reaching those goals ought to include your community.  Look to both your online and offline communities as resources.  Where you spend a bulk of your time can be both enjoyable and productive – if you choose it to be.  A conversation or chance meeting can literally turn into a contract, sale or job opportunity. 

And it’s not about exploitation it’s about choosing to make our communities livable and sustainable.  When you succeed your community succeeds because you invest in where you live…for the long term.

Take note of your neighbors and the people you see in your towns, at meetings and in stores. Pay attention to those who post and contribute to your online social and professional groups.  It’s actually fun getting to know people of like mind and interests who might also benefit your business and be able to lend a hand in connecting you to your next career!

My current Mary Kay representative got me as a client as we were searching through the vegetables at our local supermarket.  She spoke out in a friendly way about some food item in the store and that caught my attention.  I followed her voice and we struck up a conversation.

Five minutes later I had her card and now 5 years later I’m a loyal client.

The same applies for those looking to change careers.  Your daughter’s soccer team might be the best place for you to start marketing your job skills and availability.  I’m not suggesting you harass a fellow soccer mom about a job rather I’m suggesting you not discount or take others too lightly just because you don’t know them. Just getting to know other people in your environment is a way of making your abilities and interests known on a wider scale – without undue and unnatural effort!

That soccer mom sitting on the lawn chair next to you might own a business down the street and might be interested in hiring someone like you!

That’s one of the great things about living in “active” community with others.  By active I mean getting involved in activities that are focused on your community.  Whether it be a local environmental initiative, a new urbanism planning meeting, school board issue meeting, spring festival gathering, youth group initiatives, community theater or an online web chat.  Those kinds of events attract positive, action oriented people who might be the best resource for you as you seek out that next contract, client or even new job!

Living in conscious community with other people can be a gift…if we choose it to be.