The Birds and the Business

Greetings,

My husband is really into bird watching. He has a National Geographic book on North American birds that can be referenced on the fly. And there are multiple bird feeders hanging off our deck. I wonder sometimes who should be paying the mortgage.

One recent Spring day, I happened to look out our kitchen window and saw two small birds on one of the feeders. One was eating and the other was watching and waiting patiently. At that moment, a much larger Starling landed on the pole holding the feeder. He squawked at the waiting bird and moved in closer, attempting to scare the smaller birds away. The "watching and waiting" bird spun around to face the Starling and chirped "strongly" a couple of times. Instinctively I knew what that small bird was saying..."Hey! Step off! My buddy and I were here first...". The Starling quickly turned and flew off.

That short bird exchange reminded me of the entrepreneur...the small business...you know, the little guy. The one trying to find that niche and voice in larger-than-life web and world. There are no big budgets for traditional media advertising or even a commercial office space that screams "OPEN" with blinking lights..and many times, not even a small sign. But that doesn't mean that we don't have a voice.

When I first began my home-based, advertising and marketing business, I was concerned that I wouldn't stand out from the large web site, big-office firms. I felt that I was being overshadowed by the big guy, even though I offer more than a little creativity, and a valuable, affordable, personalized service that is difficult to find. I advertise regular business hours, but my clients know they can call me any time.

My observance of watching nature "play out" was a turning point for me. I realized that I don't need to be big to be noticed; that if I continued to learn and grow, work hard, network and stay confident, then nature would take its course and clients would flock to me. Three years later, I'm well on my way...