Connected communities are in the buzz these days. Naturally, you may think it’s something related to the Internet. The concept goes much deeper! These communities are designed to share energy resources, education, and other resources using high-speed broadband Internet. 

Access and efficiency are at the heart of the connected communities. Did you know these communities can be great for your business as well?

Connected Community – A Boon for Business

Any business could prosper in a smart city. Smart cities are home to smart buildings featuring tech, high-speed Internet connection (the gratitude thanks to companies like Spectrum mobile com), and everything great. These smart buildings make your workplace efficient. An efficient workplace boosts employee productivity, and as a result, your company’s bottom line increases.

Technology makes a city smart and creates thousands of jobs. A smart city gives birth to a self-sustaining ecosystem for its community. In other words, this community benefits everyone involved.

How to Leverage the Benefits of Connected Communities?

Get Involved, Make Connections: 

A simple way of connecting with a community is to get involved, or as you may call it “network.” Join forums, take part in fundraisers, and participate in public events. A business that participates in a community is doing more than just “giving back to society.” It is likely to see a return on investment soon in the form of loyal customers, more employee engagement, and a happy workforce. 

For instance, STEAM fest gives opportunities to businesses by allowing them to partner with the community and host programs related to math, art, technology, and science. From this partnership, a business gets exposure to more than ten thousand members.

Build Your Own Communities:

There is always the option of joining an existing community. Why not build your own community by asking area leaders to join? To help businesses, university-led accelerators exist. They connect entrepreneurs and researchers to create pathways for establishing consumer solutions. A partnership like this eventually grows into a community. 

Imagine a chance to collaborate with entrepreneurs and business leaders. This would give birth to ideas that can disrupt the marketplace in profound ways.

Small Innovations can Lead to Something Big:  

A small investment can make a huge difference. Talk about your program on social media or how about launching a pilot program. Both options have the potential of generating wins in a short period of time. It could also serve as a foundation for your next project.

Lynda Weinman started the initiative of teaching digital media at a design college. She was faced with the problem of limited instructional tools. As a solution to this problem, she created a free web resource for her students. Her website evolved into a subscription-based online library. It was then acquired by LinkedIn for $1.5 billion. Humble beginnings like these can result in something massive.

Change your Mindset: 

If you are looking for a new year’s resolution, consider changing your mindset. Entrepreneurship isn’t just about starting a venture. It’s a mindset that requires you to take risks and treat failure as an opportunity to learn.

Keep learning more about your customers. Change the way you see problems. Become nimbler. Always be willing to adjust your strategy or ideas in response to the market changes.

Accepting change and keeping an open mindset is not just a lesson for startups. It’s a lesson all businesses must embrace regardless of their size and years of service. Consider the example of Coca-Cola. In 1985, the company changed its original Coke recipe for regaining the market share lost to Pepsi. A few weeks later, thousands of angry customers sent letters and made phone calls to complain about the taste. What did the company do in response? The sweeter new coke was replaced with the old formula, giving birth to “Coca-Cola Classic.”  That’s called adapting to the demands of your customers!

Conclusion:

If you want your business to be the solution in this modern world, you better start participating in connected communities. And if you can’t find one related to your niche, then build one!