Without a doubt, the power of community is a
wondrous thing. This week, I thought I'd share a community collaboration
experience that's very personal to me. My husband is about to realize a
lifelong dream and open his own comic book store (in two weeks, yikes!). We've been
busy the past few weekends getting ready for the big event. Leading up to this
point, we've spent the past couple of years reading books on how to run small
businesses (we have our own chairs at our local bookstore) and scouring the
Internet for Web sites, information, and forums on the same. Additionally, we
both bring years of experience in the bookstore retail industry with us to this
endeavor. But probably the largest source of knowledge has been our social
community.
I guess I've always known, somewhere in the depths
of my brain, that my husband and I are part of a larger community--our families,
friends, fellow comic book and pop culture aficionados, and so on. But now, with
the opening of his store becoming a reality (again, two weeks, yikes!), I've
seen some of the promise and capability of that community. Time and again we've
been able to turn to it for advice, expertise, and resources. For example, a
close friend in a nearby town who owns his own comic book store is mentoring my
husband on the ins and outs of owning your own business. He's been a successful
small business owner for several years and we're benefitting greatly from his
wisdom, knowledge, and experiences. Then, a couple of weekends ago when my
husband needed some advice regarding sprucing up the store space (painting,
staining, wiring, and such) as well as on the display fixtures (he wanted to
know if new fixtures could be built to match them), in stepped my father and
brother-in-law, both superb DIYers, with expertise, power tools, and tool belts
in hand. Other friends have offered their opinions on what stock to carry in
the store (some solicited, some not, but all appreciated). And many of the
other store owners in the center where my husband's store is located have
stopped by to offer advice, help move fixtures around, share tips on where to
find used office equipment, and much more.
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