BAM and The Power of Community
As I write this blog, my community in the mountains of Western North Carolina, USA is just beginning to recover from a horrifically destructive hurricane, Hurricane Helene. Over 40 trillion gallons of rain fell on our area in 1 day (that’s the amount of water that goes over Niagara Falls in 700 days). Entire towns have ceased to exist and the largest city in the region is without clean water. It’s truly terrible.
But, I’ve noticed from the very beginning the power of the community coming together. Neighbors helping neighbors. Businesses enabling other companies to keep going. Denominational differences set aside in order to feed and shelter people. Sharing electricity, internet, and working together to stay alive and to begin the rebuilding process. Businesses like my wife’s bed and breakfast inn pivoting to become a barracks for rescue and recovery workers. It’s been truly inspiring and has renewed my hope and belief that God will indeed bring us through this and bless us.
My musing has raised a question in my mind: what role does community play in the successful launch of BAM businesses around the world? Does this kind of support only appear in times of catastrophe? The more I think on this the more I am convinced that community is vital to BAM and we neglect it at our own peril.
The Myth of the Entrepreneurial “Lone Wolf”
Much popular literature on founders is that they are rugged loners but I believe that if they by are they will likely fail. It’s one thing to pioneer into areas where others have not gone but that’s very different from going into those areas by yourself.
I’m sure that someone will produce an example to prove me wrong but those would be the exception not the rule. Creation, Scripture, and human nature agree that “it is not good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) We were created to live in community—to thrive, to innovate, to collaborate for the good of the whole. Why would this principle not apply to BAM founders? Simply stated, entrepreneurs need community.
There is an old African proverb that states “if you want to go fast then go alone; if you want to go far then go together.” I believe this.
What Community Brings
The “community” of which I write can be defined in many ways. It can be your company—interesting word for a business enterprise. Company (from the Latin companio) means to join together to eat, signifying a shared life. It might be your church; my dream is that local churches would abandon the false dichotomy that separates clergy and laity, sacred and secular, ministry and business. Churches and businesses would both be stronger if the Christian community united in prayer, encouragement, and support for each other. Community might be your neighbors or townspeople. They have the power to make or break your startup with their purchase, referrals, words of wisdom, and words they speak about you.
Why does this matter?
Shared Resources. What I have witnessed in our time of need is people sharing power (if they have it), food, shelter—all of which we need right now. In the same way, your community does not need to function in an “every man for himself” mentality. Sharing equipment, ideas, employees, and even customers is a very Biblical way to help and bless one another.
Shared Values. A healthy church, company, or town invariably has a set of shared values—agreements on how they will live and work together. This is the power of laws, not that some distant authority imposed them but that the people see their need of rules by which to live and treat each other. This is an area where Christian business people should have a distinct leadership role since we are seeking to live by the very rules of life that come from our Creator.
Shared Accountability. I have blind spots; there are things around me and about me that I don’t see. I will make mistakes or teeter on the edge of huge blunders (business or moral). I need trusted companions in life to warn and correct me. We may not like accountability but we require it to be healthy and successful. As Solomon said, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend…” (Proverbs 27:6) One very important part of community accountability is the fact that the market decides quickly what it thinks is “good” or “bad” in terms of service, prices, products, quality, etc.
Shared Finances. Banking is simply a means for a community to pool and share its wealth with others. Whether it’s a loan to buy a house for your family or to buy a piece of equipment for your company, it is (or at least was and can be again) the community that provides the money; the bank manages these assets but it doesn’t create or own themselves. One of the most successful examples of this concept is the Savings Circles of the Grameen Bank, founded by Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh; Yunus is, by the way, a Muslim; shared finances, while a clearly Biblical concept is not limited to Christians or Christian communities.
Conclusion
So what do we actually do with this? Well, first, act now. Don’t wait until a killer storm bears down on your city to come together. Do it now! Second, if you are thinking or acting like a solo-preneur, stop. Admit your need for others and let them into your life, your circle. Third, wherever you live, become a community catalyst to building a culture of mutual service and support for each other and for each other’s businesses. Fourth, if you are a church leader, devote yourself to bringing business and the church together for the glory of God and the good of people.
And, finally, prayerfully consider the implications for your business in Solomon’s words:
“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12