I think that we are all familiar with the epic duel between David and the “giant” Goliath from the first book of Samuel. Twice a day for forty days, Goliath, the giant champion of the Philistines, comes out and challenges the Israelites to send a champion of their own to decide the outcome of their conflict in single combat. The Israelites are afraid of him, but the boy David steps up to the challenge. Armed only with his staff, a sling, and 5 stones, David faces Goliath and his armor and sword and shield. He strikes Goliath in the head with the first stone from his sling, and the Philistine falls on his face. David takes Goliath’s sword and decapitates Goliath.

While this story is an example of faith and trust in God, it has also become the rally cry of the entrepreneur. One person CAN compete. An individual can stand up to the big man and over come the odds to win. In this story we see that there was only one person in the whole army that was willing to take a chance, but those numbers are changing. With today’s technology an individual can set up a business and be a success.

As I am working to understand more about this changing market and my place in it, I’ve found a prime example of this principle on the internet. With the popularization of web and mobile applications, there is a rush to cash in on the next big iPhone app. The iTunes store seems to have its favorites, its Goliaths, that gain in popularity as they are pushed to the front lines, but where are the Davids? How does a little guy compete with that ocean swell? That Gigantic corporate structure with it’s herd of fans doesn’t know me or what I might want but my friend Blake has an idea.

Blake is David. He’s the guy with the idea. He recognizes that there is a vast ocean of opinions about these different applications so he’s made a way to turn to and trust his friend’s opinions called Appteria. By tying into his social network on Facebook, and inviting his friends to join together with their social networks, he has made a way to get a more trusted recommendation on new applications. Check out the site and find some great new programs. It’s such a great idea that Apple decided to make their own fan page on Facebook.

Goliath is not as tall as we once thought, and the stones in my sling just got better.

My friend Blake sent me a link yesterday to the “Linchpin Index“.  I was a bit taken aback to see my photo on the page, then I was deeply flattered.  You see, Blake works for the community website Squidoo which was founded by Seth Godin.  On the Squidoo site, users can create their own pages called “lenses” to share their knowledge on all subjects.  Seth Godin is, well, he’s a thinker.  His views on marketing, media, fans, and platform vs. eyeballs have helped to shape the way I work.

In his new book, “Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?” Seth describes that, “…in the old days, a linchpin was a tiny piece of hardware, very light in weight and low in cost that held the wheel onto the wagon. Without a linchpin the wheel would fall off. It’s the part you can’t live without.
And I use that as a talking point to get me started down this road of talking about how our economy has shifted from 150 or 200 years of industrial compliance in which a workers job is to feed the machine and keep the system running, to a new age which just dawned, a revolution, in which the employees we’re willing to pay, and the people we seek out, and the jobs that we care about, are done by people, not who follow a manual, and do what they’re told, but people who matter, who make a difference, who are linchpins, who we can’t live without.”

I’m thrilled to be listed with people who make a difference.  I guess it’s time to get to work!

Working for someone and working for yourself are two VERY distinct and separate things.  For the last 10+ years, I would wake up and prepare for work and often leave the house before anyone else was awake.  I would spend 8-10 hours in the office where I would have a voice in what was going on but ultimately I would be following the dictate of someone else.  I would then come home in time to help set up the table for dinner, assist the kids with their chores and homework and then see them off to bed.  I made pretty good money doing this too.

Now that I’m working for myself, I don’t have the luxuray of sitting around waiting to be told what to do (and still collecting a paycheck while I wait to be put to work).  I’ve seen that there are a few different networking groups and a friend of mine has started his own.  The idea is that I can get to know some other proffessionals and that we can reccommend one another’s services.  So here’s who I met.

Russ LeSueur from Benchmark Blinds specializing in Window Coverings at 480.985.7961
Michael Klein from Klein Financial is a Financial Planner
Warren Bodine from Sparkle Brothers Pool Service & Repair
Pete Driggs from Express 1 small business and individual Shipping service
Blake Schwendiman works for Squidoo.com and blogs about communication, social networking, and technology at The Why and How
Rich Dalton from Hansen, Dalton & Assoc.  is a partner and Insurance Broker