Pulling the wagon… together

... From Biz2Biz NWA January 2009

By Randy Mullkin / The Mullikin Agency / Springdale

Businesses of all sizes in Northwest Arkansas must take a regional approach in the future. We must educate each other through the sharing of information, and in doing so we will secure a much stronger foundation.

John Dewey once said, “Education is a social process…Education is growth…Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself.”

By launching the monthly resource magazine, Biz2Biz Northwest Arkansas, we are in effect offering a new conduit for educating and informing each other about the services and products available to us regionally.

The expertise each of us needs is right here in Northwest Arkansas—right now. We just lacked the vehicle of communication to unlock it. Since we are becoming a metroplex or sorts, I venture to say you can find nearly any product or service you need without looking beyond Northwest Arkansas, and at a great value.

When it comes to building a long-term enterprise, it has been said that you don’t just close a sale, you open a relationship. Biz2Biz will give many of us a chance to come together, to network, and to connect with different people. We can start new relationships and improve our businesses and the entire region. There is a synergy that forms when people come together.

Northwest Arkansas has worked together many times over the years to accomplish much, such as a new regional airport, a regional water supply, and I-540—just to name a few. The area’s chambers of commerce have formed a Regional Chamber to better tackle regional issues. Isn’t it time to come together as business leaders to share ideas, products, and services with each other?

Winston Churchill once wrote, “Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon.” We are the ones pulling the wagon—you and every other small, medium, and large business in Northwest Arkansas—and pull it we shall.

We can all do our part. As we enter the new year, let’s commit to working together as a region to stimulate economic growth by promoting objective discussion of the issues and trends affecting Northwest Arkansas.

Author/expert Randy Mullikin, owner of The Mullikin Agency, has spent more than 25 years creating some of the most memorable campaigns in this region. 2009 marks the 15-year celebration of Mullikin’s full service advertising, marketing, and public relations agency. Randy may be contacted at randy@mullikinad.com.