Humans have viewed space with their naked eyes for most of our history.  Then, with the innovation of a small glass bead, everything changed.  That first lens allowed humans to see more than what our eyes allowed.  The culminating act of this race was to connect many radio telescopes from across the globe to get an Earth-size lens.  Each individual telescope offering amazing glimpses into the sky.  Millions of times more powerful than the first telescope, the modern radio telescope allows humanity the ability to see into its distant past.  This view was magnified a thousandfold when radio telescopes were linked together to create an Earth-size lens. 

In today’s business environment, technology gives us a dizzying number of tools and measurements about the economy.  At any minute, you have billions of bits of data to choose from.  It can make an individual feel like the first people who looks through telescopes.  I bet you’re thinking like me, “So much information, what does it mean to me?”  Your business is part of this universe of commerce and you look for your star of data to help promote your business.  I wrestle with that idea everyday as a small business owner.  I believe that telescopes can teach us something that can accelerate sales and promotion with scanning the vast universe of ideas, media, and websites.

My business is Roll-a-Bong Games.  We sell a line of cannabis smoking games, two that I created.  Three years ago, I contacted as many cannabis game makers as possible. Of the dozens of emails, letters, and texts I sent, five game makers responded.  Like me, they were sole proprietors.  I proposed that we sell each other’s games and help to promote and expand the cannabis game market.  They agreed and we exchanged games.  It was a huge hit for me, and I had to purchase more games to meet my demand.  With my success came media coverage and opportunities to work with the cannabis industry. 

Over time it was clear, my fellow game makers were not selling my games.  Their websites had no mention of my game and they had not sold a single game.  My first bug issue was with games sold to a retailer.  One of my partner game makers had sent out an order that was not acceptable. This card game had only one card, not the regular 52.  I asked if the games could be re-sent, but he got angry and told me that I was trying to rip him off.  Needless to say, we never resolved the issue and we stopped doing business.  When I sold out of a game, I would not reorder it again.  This put an end to my game makers guild.

Now three years later, only I am still in business.  The five other game makers lost money and closed.  I still look for new games to sell on my website.  Each new game I come across; I pitch the guild idea.  I tell them that we could work together and by selling each other’s games, we expand our reach and help grow the market.  By working together, we can share resources and drive down costs.  When you work with me you have access to my printer, my post Covid-19 events, my network, basically my resources!  When we compete, you must expend resources to have access to new markets and lose all potential sales through cooperation. 

The go it alone route is like a sole astronomer. Each planet and star you find, you wonder if anyone has seen it before.  In business you create a product or service that you believe will have a demand.  From your prospective, what you’re selling is needed, but is that what the larger business environment wants?  Profit is the ultimate truth, and if you are profitable by yourself, you need no one’s help.  If you’re surprised by the failure of your Kickstarter campaign or find that demand is far less than you hoped or expected, what do you do?

Pay others to promote your product or service? That costs money! Spend money on advertising or a give away campaign? Each one of these things costs money and there’s no guarantee that you will make your money back.  Go on Amazon or Ebay?  Welcome to a new universe of products! Remember every small business in the world competes for your dollars on these popular sites.  You need to spend money to get to the top suggestion plain, so expect to spend to get noticed.  The larger the service, the more the money they will expect you to pay.  All of these options are far beyond most small businesses.  It’s clear most people haven’t learned the history of telescopes and get the subtle lesson that it’s development has taught us.  Together we rise!