Supporting each other in business and in life

The past few weeks, I went through a difficult time of unpacking from my out-of-state move and attempting to get settled... finally. A tough end to a tough yet very blessed year. This final stage of unpacking was an ordeal and a half. Not something I care to repeat anytime soon! But I realize how fortunate I am that I didn't have to do all of this while holding a full-time corporate job.

I remember moving to a new place several years ago, when I worked for an investment bank in NYC. I moved literally across the street, and yet it took a solid month to get everything done. The last two days of the move, I felt like I was losing my mind. I had to take the only two personal days I was allotted for the year, just to finish the move and get the old place cleaned out. That was a relatively easy move compared to what I just did. I can't imagine how I would have gotten through the past few weeks with a corporate job.

The way Corporate America is traditionally run makes things difficult when life intrudes. One of the biggest problems I had to face in the corporate world was explaining to upper management why some of the people I supervised had to take personal time off to take a child to the doctor's office or rush a baby to the emergency room or go to a parent-teacher conference at their child's school. Reality didn't often fit into upper management's worldview. It's much easier to deal with the challenges of real life when you have a home business.

I'm not trying to be harsh on Corporate America. I've come across several good corporate opportunities, and I've worked for corporations that create valuable products and services. The corporations I admire the most are those that create a strong sense of community - real community - for their employees. A lot of companies look good on paper but do not follow through in practice. Those that do are much more desirable to work for.

It's the same with network marketing companies: some are more desirable to work with than others; some create better communities than others. In general, I prefer the network marketing alternative, because it's easier to structure a network marketing company into a strong and people-friendly community. That doesn't mean all network marketing companies are structured this way; but they can be. And that's a great place to be when life throws challenges your way.

Even for those who like their corporate jobs, participating in a community-oriented network marketing company on the side can be an incredible experience. Network marketing can teach you lessons in community building that you can apply in your corporate setting. What's that? Management won't let you? What if you have the leverage of not caring whether or not you lose your corporate job, because you've built a viable home business? How might that change the way you approach - and shape - your corporate environment?

In my professional history, I stepped on some corporate toes because I wanted the company to do the right thing. While I don't necessarily recommend this - the consequences are not usually pleasant - I can tell you that it would have been less frightening to take these chances if I'd already built a successful home business on the side. And the lessons I've learned in how to grow and strengthen a home business community would have been valuable, many times over, in the corporate settings where I worked.

I look forward to seeing what Music 423 will discover - and teach - about building a socially conscious, people-oriented business community, where we can support each other in business and in life.