Entrepreneur
Friday, September 23, 2011 at 9:29AM ::Put on your imagination hat and follow along::
You are an entrepreneur. A new company is being created and you are the boss, chief, CEO, CFO, and it’s only employee.
This is happening but it is not of your doing. It was sort of given to you.
So as an entrepreneur you need to do some work on your new company. What is the name of your company going to be? What are you going to sell? Where are you going to set up shop? How can you market to your customers?
But wait, this new company is in an industry you have never heard of, don’t know a thing about, and did I mention that it is immediately open for business?
So now what do you do? Sure in your “You’re a new company owner” folder you received a few brochures about this and that but you have a ton of questions that these brochures don’t answer and your anxiety is kicking in. How can you do this alone? You have to hire some help!
Maybe you find a team of people to work with. A board of directors that you can see now and then to get their ideas and to help you assess your progress. That would be good right?
What about the day to day stuff? Well, that part you have to handle all by yourself. The actual work that is. So sorry if that doesn’t seem fair but it’s what you inherited.
So what do you do now? How does your company thrive?
::Hat’s off and thanks for the cooperation::
By now I am sure you have figured out that I am referring to diabetes when I talk about the “company” above. But in a lot of ways it is like a business you have to run all by yourself! Sure you have a team of doctors and professionals to help you but at the end of the day you are in charge of it all!
Now I am not a savvy businessman by any means but one thing I have learned is that others out there are a lot smarter than I am and maybe picking their brains could help me some. Networking is a smart business practice because it creates connections between businesses of different or similar nature and those connection create an two way street of advice, ideas, and knowledge.
I see the DOC this way. The more connections we make, the more people we meet, the more conversations that happen can change how we do business; I mean care for our health.
Think back before you found this community. Do you still have the imagination hat around?
Was your diabetes life easier or harder than it is now? Have you learned anything about diabetes directly from this community or have you been able to teach others about something they may not have known? Or both?
Not all businesses are going to consider networking to be beneficial. I get that. But I think there is a huge benefit for those that do.
Same goes with PWD’s. Not all PWD’s would like the social networking we all do but I think most would. I think most people with diabetes would find it beneficial on many levels they just may not know about it.
This is my passion. To help people who feel alone find this community. No one with diabetes should ever have to feel alone.
You are not alone.
Reader Comments (5)
Very interesting, George. I like the comparison.
An interesting train of thought, on the "Was your diabetes life easier or harder than it is now?" question.
Not that it was "easier" before, but in some ways it was more simple because it wasn't something I focused on or talked about as much. It was more invisible, and just a part of my life. The community support and networking, learning process has grown and made the coping "easier," but in other ways things are even more complicated because D has become such a large part of my life. It's an interesting dynamic.
But like every business, YDMV and it's all about adapting to the market. And without a doubt, I think networking is worth it 110%. Hope everyone in our "business community" is able to thrive and succeed by this ever-growing network of awesomeness.
Great post. I've not only learned about new things, but have also learned TONS by seeing things from a different perspective.
I also like Magical Mikey's comment - there's a lot to th ink about in what he shared.
Also, when I saw the title of the post I was hoping for a chance to buy into the Ninjabetic franchise... :-)
Who moved my cheese?
So grateful someone did so I could find the amazing DOC :)
i feel like i learn something new nearly every day i read blogs in the DOC. and that is priceless.