"Are you Effin kidding me? They don't even have a phone number to call them?!"
- Anonymous
Yesterday, I took a trip. A couple buddies and I picked up and drove to New Orleans and Baton Rouge on a mission of DISCOVERY. Our mission: To find a great example of a facility that is building a community of ENTREPRENEURS. What we saw was AWESOME!
First, we found a location that was EXCEPTIONAL in its presentation and beautiful in its design. When it came to EXAMINING the culture building and supportive sharing of cross industry ideas, this place flat out FAILED. Don't get me wrong… it was AWESOME and, I think, the purpose was NOT to make a community of budding entrepreneurs, rather, a fancy spot for a mid size company to finance its facility through others.
Secondly, we visited a more FORMAL, university or baking type atmosphere. Big building, lots of offices, multiple floors, no exclusivity in the building. It was a big building with lots and lots of businesses and people. YET… the culture was OVERWHELMING! The whole purpose of the center was to "graduate' single employee entrepreneurs into small businesses into mid level businesses and bigger… There were SUPPORT systems, programs and education. A WIN, even if the real estate deal wasn't ideal.
Lastly, we visited an EPIC FAILURE. First, difficult to find with no address or phone number on the website. When we finally did find the spot, there was NO ONE inside and the doors were LOCKED. WOW! Nothing says: "Welcome young budding superstars" like a total inability to contact the center and the empty offices upon arriving. (and NO – they were not closed. It was confirmed).
2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Let's make this simple. When you OFFER something, you must be CLEAR in what your purpose is. "Making money" is an acceptable answer, but understand that if your goal is to rake it in, be ready for a little backlash.
In our adventure, we found that the first was a solution to an internal real estate need. A self-serving goal, but all the same a creative one that does provide a service to the companies that make their base camp there.
Secondly, we found a group that was DERIVED to serve the entrepreneur. Does it make a boatload of cash? Likely not. Does it serve a HUGE void? ABSOLUTELY!!
Lastly, we found a group that (appears) to be filling a need to fill unrented office space in a building they own, by making it a "center" for entrepreneurs, which creates positive PR and Marketing for the owners. It is just a guess though since there is no way to contact them anyhow…
Be CLEAR in your goals, be DIRECT in your communications and be CONSISTENT in your delivery. If you are NOT ABLE to meet those three directives, maybe you should examine WHY you are in business!
Cheers,
Zach
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