I was having a conversation with a friend who owns a tea shop. As we chatted, we made a very important distinction.

 

In typical business understanding, marketing is something that is added in after you have your product. In his case, it meant he thought he should use marketing to find people to buy his teas.

 

But to really succeed in the Connection Economy, smart business owners need to stop viewing themselves as selling tea, sports drinks, consulting services, or event space.

 

They instead need to see themselves as leading a community. [Read more…]