Despite all of this, I had an epiphany yesterday. I realized just how few small business I rely on in order to learn and write about small business. Here’s what I mean.
- I buy all of my books from Chapters and Amazon
- I buy all my audiobooks from Audible, a company owned by Amazon
- I bought my domain, and host my site with GoDaddy
- All of the gear I use to get this blog out (and all my other work) was bought from Dell, Apple, and Wal-Mart
Furthermore, you’ve probably noticed that I have ads on my site (hopefully not too many). While I only advertise and link to products I use and pay for (when applicable), they are all large businesses.
Am I a hypocrite?
Is it wrong to promote small business, and then profit by helping out big business? In some ways, yes. I really hadn’t thought of it before yesterday, so I’m a bit torn at the moment.
On one hand, the majority of small businesses require the help of a bigger business. Small town tire shops make money by profiting off of products from Michelin or Goodyear. How is that different from a blogger making a commission from selling products for Amazon or eBay?
On the other hand, it would certainly show a lot more “walking the talk” if I were to only promote and shop with other small business owners. Even better if I were to sell something I made or wrote myself.
The wheels are spinning on this one. I’ve got quite a few ideas on this, and plan to write a few more posts to tackle this issue. However, before I do that, I’d like to hear from you (providing there actually are people out there reading this).
Nice, thinky question, Eric! It’s a tough call, though. Years ago, all business was done locally. Unless you were in business. Then you would buy things on a larger scale and resell them. The only thing that has changed is the ease of communication and the access to information. That has made the “middle man”, who in most cases is the beloved local guy, very vulnerable.
It is impossible to buy almost any consumer product without supporting, in some way, a corporate giant. So the question really isn’t about who you are supporting. It’s about the future of small business (the local guy). And the way I see it, the local guy has three options:
1. Quit, hide, run away. Not a good option.
2. Do something that can only be done locally. Make the local buying experience so different that it’s actually worth doing.
3. Compete globally. You have the same opportunities to compete their playground as they have to compete in yours.
Dan Friesen
Thanks for the comments Dan. Those are good points. I guess, when I think of it in those terms, it makes sense to use the leverage of bigger businesses to your advantage.
It’s true, it would be very hard, in most industries, to completely avoid big businesses. If you are in one of those fields, being a good “middle man” just requires that you provide a unique experience that the big guys can’t.
I agree especially with #3. The huge selection of free tools and platforms really levels the playing field. I can send a message to just as many people as Microsoft or Coca Cola, and usually for free.