The Entrepreneur Next Door

To all our economically active neighbors,

There are an increasing number of people having to turn to self-employment, contracting, gig economy jobs and their own startups due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting economic shut-down. Governments and NGO's can only do so much to support a failing economy and job market in times such as these.

The economic importance of the entrepreneur next door and why supporting local small business benefits all of us.

Today resourceful and industrial people are needing to take their careers and livelihoods into their own hands, and those that are already a part of this alternative or informal economy need to hunker down and be evermore creative in maintaining and growing their businesses in order to survive.

For the past few years the Entrepreneur Map has been endeavoring to help such individuals boost their online publicity and expand their market reach. It has been a battle though, as we simply do not have the funds to penetrate an owned and locked down online marketing ecosystem dominated by a handful of powerful players. For this reason, we rely on our members reciprocity and their desire to authentically network to help this service reach more and be successful.

This virtual village trend will continue to grow in the coming months and years, in many countries this type of overlooked economy is the only economy that exists. We have an ever-widening wealth gap that is not being seriously addressed, waiting for governments and their favored corporations to fix the problem is obviously futile. We the people need to help each other out of this economic quagmire.

There are already many places and cities in the world that have their own local currencies to encourage spending within their local community. Communities are painfully aware of the fact that a local Walmart and nothing else does not a village make. If we see the need to be economically responsible to our local community, then we need to adjust our browsing and spending habits accordingly.

Sure we have to rely on the globally connected and run supply chain for some products and services, however saving a buck and conveniences like Amazon and Walmart has resulted in a loss that can't be measured when it comes to the middle and lower income bracket, this is self-evident. Most people think solutions will magically materialize if the wealth divide gets too extreme, where are the long overdue solutions to this unsustainable and dangerous problem. Instead we are encouraged to look to billionaires as role models as they act as the new high priests of the economy and our consumer culture. The I'm alright Jack and someone else will fix it attitude persists.

Unless the majority of us start getting proactive, we will only have ourselves to blame when 90% of us will depend on a minimum UBI or similar government stipend to survive, all the while celebrating the first of many future trillionaires, is this ridiculous situation what we truly want. This is not fearmongering, this is the actual trend and not some worst case scenario of many.

If you've read this far, maybe you agree with some conclusions or identify with the predicament we're in. If so, please join our network or share and invite small business owners you know to check us out and start supporting one another. As previously stated, it has proven to be a real battle to get this platform going due to a lack of marketing budget, we rely on your good will and a click or two to help get our service out there.

There are obviously other giant platforms offering more sophisticated services than ours, strength to them if they are really helping the little guy to get ahead. However, many of them are self-serving, publicly owned corporations whose sole goal is the monetization of your data generated by ad spend and thus profit for their shareholders. These total monopoly companies are not a healthy indicator for local economies, it's hard to stop this runaway train but we need to for posterities sake.

These giant online marketing platforms are also seeing a steady decline in ROI from their advertising offerings. Due to mountains of low quality content serious buyers look elsewhere when making final purchasing decisions, thus they need to hype the numbers to keep their remaining customers believing in their advertising models which are sold on vanity metrics. Put bluntly it is a bs zero sum game with a race to the bottom as to real ROI and success on these giant platforms. The adage of you need to spend $100 to make $110 applies, only those with big cash flows make meaningful profits, quantity over quality is the model.

This article can't start to cover the slow incursion of AI into current technology and related market topics. One can safely predict that it will once again only really benefit a handful and increasingly lock the majority into increasingly narrow ways in which they can function in and benefit from the local economy. This has always been the case with new (promising) technologies, they all get annexed. Take Cryptocurrency as one example, the technology that was going to set the little man free, was going to bank the unbanked by making everyone his own bank etc., now it is used mostly as a volatile gambling investment vehicle for those with extra money to risk. Yes, there are a few genuine use cases that benefit average Joe, its hard work finding and using them.

Local currencies as mentioned above are a more successful endeavor in this regard and should be encouraged and emulated. Maybe cryptocurrency will eventually become more useful for the mainstream, I doubt it though as its original use case of being decentralized is now only that in theory, as every legitimate transaction made with it is accountable by law to government agencies for taxation, which is granted.

The trends above should reiterate the dire need to support the entrepreneur next door, or to become one yourself. Until mankind finds a working alternative to the money system, we as small business owners need to support one another as best we can. We can all see the results of having only a handful of global players dominate every sector of the economy and the financial system and the legal machinery that makes all their corporate friendly laws.

I accept that there are many who are well contented with the status quo of the socio, political and economic world we have made for ourselves, they are not the target of these concerns. They are content with their amusement gadgets and having every important decision made for them, they welcome this brave new utopia, and they can't wait to be fully plugged into the techno spellcasting feeder-matrix machinery and then spend their virtual-reality future celebrating their elite overlords. This article is for those who still value their own imagination and determination.

There is indeed a place for large multi-national corporations, that is not the issue, the issue is gross over-reach, monopoly and hegemony. Some have become far too big for their boots just as empires do, they eventually collapse under the weight of greed and corruption which is the natural result of enjoying such dominance. However, they cause a great deal of destruction during this self-centered life cycle, which could and would be avoided if the majority made wiser choices in their spending habits. If you end up with a monopoly or an autocracy in place, it did not pop out of a vacuum, it was birthed and nurtured by the consumer behavior and socio-political choices of the majority.

If you prefer a less extreme wealth gap and more chances and opportunities for all, then become more active in these ways:

Discover and patronize local entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Buy local and shop small when you can and get the satisfaction of doing so.
Join platforms like ours that offer tools to support local enterprise.
Be authentic in all your online marketing and dealings.
Be the individual you are meant to be, reject the hive mind of consumer trends.
Seek out and encourage genuine individuals doing legitimate things that benefit society.
Discover generosity again, the mainstream flaunts narcissistic self-centeredness.
Think of the next generation when making your buying decisions.
Barter and trade when you can, negotiate and discount.
Remember that life is much more than accumulation and consumerism.
Stop subscribing to the mainstream narratives that you can't effectively think for yourself.
Turn off technologies that manipulate you for their monetary gain, are you merely a product.
Realize that convenience and saving a buck or two has negative consequences for tomorrow.
Consider what is best for future generations and not only what benefits your retirement.
Reject the winner takes all mentality, especially as you are most likely not the winner.
Beat the Walmart and Amazon habit, they are already wealthy enough.
Strengthen what remains, support local small business owners like yourself.
Join our network that works on the principal of mutual respect and reciprocity.

Our mission is to build virtual villages where entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, enterprising individuals and small business owners can network, promote, deal and trade with one another resulting in mutual growth, reciprocity and prosperity.

You say that you can't change the world, you can help change the mind of someone who does change the world.

Hopefully this article has expressed what our platform ⁄ network is all about - promoting the little guy. If you are a person of means and have enjoyed economic success, please consider sponsoring our service or our members, the paid services tab gives you some options. Most helpful is sharing our platform with people that appreciate the importance of entrepreneurship and supporting local small business owners.

Our network is growing steadily and organically as any legitimate resource does. Using our digital marketing tools is a good start in promoting your business or venture, the long-term value will be in forging new working relationships with other members. Membership has two conditions to encourage sincere engagement: your business or venture must be legitimate and you must be willing to network and share as this benefits all and adds value to the entire network.

As with all things internet, do your due diligence in checking on the legitimacy of members and their offerings before engagement. Please let us know if you find inappropriate posts or information on our platform.

All comments and suggestions are welcome below. View our Entrepreneur Articles on our vision to build up local small business.

Regards, Justin Grounds.
Founder & Admin

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