When I think about all the time I’ve spent as a business owner,  the consideration that I was a “beacon of hope” for the economy rarely, if ever, crossed my mind. My focus was on survival. Survival and my client’s missions. Listening to public radio these past couple of years it’s been interesting to hear talk of the government, and greater public, looking to small business owners to lead us out of the recession. But they are right.

Small businesses have a unique position because, by nature, their simplified structure and lower overhead allow them greater adaptability. Where large corporations have stakeholders, interest groups, and insane governance to report to, small businesses can scale down, ride high tides, and scale back down with necessary speed. What small business don’t have (in many cases) is a community. Larger companies have a bevy of interested parties that keep them afloat; partners and board members, stakeholders and interest groups. A small company can be wiped-out by the loss of one client.

Small companies need to create their own communities to help them survive a crap economy.

The problem is this: small business owners have a fear sharing. They often feel isolated and underfunded. What do you do if you are in an area where there are multiple businesses in the same niche and too few clients to keep them all in business? What do you do if you are a small fish in a big pond? How do you grow? All these worries are magnified in a bad economy and create a culture of fear. But, instead of becoming more guarded, we should be turning to each other to succeed. Small business owners need to start trusting each other and creating a safe place where we all will thrive.

Here are five ways small business owners can band together during tough times:

1. GROUP GIVING
A recent report by the Corporation for National and Community Service showed that there was an increase of over 1.6 million people in the United States that gave their time to volunteer in 2009 as compared to the previous year. That was the largest jump in six years! 63 million Americans volunteered over 8 billion hours of service which is a value of $169 billion. Despite the economic crisis, the national volunteer rate went up. http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov

Small business can band together, without competition, and choose a charity for a day of giving back. No talk about business, no fear of sharing business intelligence. A day spent together, for the good of someone else, allowing an open atmosphere to get to know each other better.

2. COMMUNAL LIVING
Sometimes overhead is the most daunting thing a small business can overcome. Although the allure of the local coffee shop has been appealing to a lot of business owners lately, you can have this same effect in a large private space. You never know, the company in the cube next to you could be your next client, partner or vendor!

There are communities, such as Independents Hall in Philadelphia (http://www.indyhall.com), that work together to support the small business infrastructure in their towns. Instead of working alone, they cowork together to form a strong bond that lifts them all to a level where they can survive.

3. PLAYTIME
Competition keeps you fresh and keeps ideas from getting stale. Instead of focusing on outwitting your local competition in the marketplace, challenge them to a game of skee ball, softball or karaoke to the death. Diminish the fear, replace it with play.

4. HEALTHY AND SANITY
If you asked any small business owner to name three areas they wished they didn’t have to deal with, I guarantee it would be payroll taxes, health insurance, and bookkeeping. If a small business can get these issues under control early, it saves a world of hurt later. Look to these organizations to help you out:

- ADP (http://www.adp.com): Leveraging 60 years of experience, ADP offers the widest range of HR, payroll, tax and benefits administration solutions from a single source.
- Freelancers Union (http://www.freelancersunion.org): national membership organization that’s free to join and offers benefits like insurance and retirement  and provide political advocacy for all independent workers.
- Peg O’Connell and Associates (http://www.pegoandassoc.com): an independent bookkeeper who specializes in working with busy creative professionals

5. KARMA IS A BITCH
Remember, you are all in the same boat. When one of you are hurting there is a good chance that the others are as well. Don’t get caught in the mind trap that you are alone in your hardships. Open up and share your experiences. Start each day knowing you have a community, and be there for them. When in doubt, do good.

At the end of the day, most of us start businesses because we are trying to find some peace or happiness in our lives. There is nothing as frustrating as being solely responsible for the welfare of a number of employees, clients, as well as yourself and family. There are also very few things in this world as gratifying. In the words of HHDL, “The more we expand our focus to include others’ interests alongside our own, the more securely we build the foundations of our own happiness”. And that’s what it’s about in the end, right? We all want to be happy.

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Sheila Shidnia is the Director of Web Marketing and Communication for Butler University where she successfully initiates, develops, and manages interdisciplinary marketing programs. She has, at various moments in time, managed recording sessions for BMG, run a small publishing company, run a record label, made pillows, produced records, produced humans, played Rachmaninoff, transcribed early American folk songs, tended bar in Red Hook, played in a percussion ensemble, studied sound design with Robert Moog, and is currently on a mission to master backgammon. Twitter: @sheilashidnia.

Tagged in: community, happiness, recession, sanity, small business