By guest blogger Grace Eyre
These days, things look pretty grim. Our currency is losing value. Prices are rising. Unemployment is high. From GM to Wall Street, many of our favored industries have lost face in the international community. The USA has hit the debt ceiling and is at risk of default.
In short, it’s a stressful time to be alive, and a stressful time to be young. But the next generation of business has grown up in the shadow of these mistakes, and I think we’ve absorbed some valuable lessons. I’m 25. The stock market plummeted and layoffs began the week after I finished school. I’ve worked for non-profits, small businesses, and done some government consulting. I admit that my perspective is limited. I’m not an expert in business, but what I have seen, particularly the contrast between new and old, bureaucracy and flexibility, gives me hope. My experience in coming to Mutually Human from a decidedly stodgier old-school employer has initiated me into a surprising world wherein profit is not the end-all be-all, but only one in a handful of company goals. Among them is creating real change in the community, being a thought leader, and caring about the market success of our customers. What’s more, the approach is sensible, measured, and effective. Yes, a small flicker of optimism is growing in my cynical heart.
Culture and technology are shifting in favor of the homemade business. You can start from your home. You can start from a rolling stand. You can start with a website. You can start at the Starbucks counter. You don’t borrow money, you don’t lease storefronts. You start small and you build out until you need the storefront and you have the money. This may seem awfully shoestring and cavalier, but the truth is, it’s smart. It’s low-risk and test-driven in the real world of incomprehensible human behavior. Suits be damned. This is the era of Lean Startup.
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