The community must come first. Yogi Bhajan, who was the leader of the Kundalini Yoga movement in the United States and founder of over 27 companies, knew this simple, but unrecognized, fact a long time ago. Today, after more than 30 years of tirelessly expanding his teachings and philosophy unto countless students and followers, yoga and meditation have gained widespread acceptance in the West and continue to affect endless lives throughout the world.
Yogi Bhajan’s main aim wasn’t to build companies (Sikh Dharma, Akal Security, 3HO Foundation, Golden Temple, The Amar Infinity Foundation, Peace Cereal, etc.), most notably Yogi Tea Company, but to spread awareness of yoga and meditation and how these tools, if used correctly, can bring about happiness and peace. He focused, with all his might, to build a community of followers and practitioners who could gain — spiritually, mentally, and physically — from his teachings and even “surpass him” one day.
Once the community was in place, secure, and in auto-drive, you can essentially serve up anything (of value) into that community and it’ll flourish. Yogi’s tea company, Yogi Tea Company, was first introduced when Yogi began serving it to his students after class. From there, he began selling it through various vegetarian restaurants, now it is sold worldwide in thousands of health food stores. He needed the community. Without the community, there would have been no channel for the product.
A co-founder to one of Yogi’s companies stated: “there is no stigma in being financially successful,” Mr. Khalsa added. “Prosperity does not take away from spiritual net worth. You can have both.”
“The whole point of all these ventures is not for an individual to get rich, but to perpetuate the mission of the community,” said Avtar Hari Singh Khalsa, CEO of Yogi’s 3HO Foundation.
When you build a community that fosters and promotes positive change and peace, you are laying the foundation for explosive growth. Any community that seeks to bring about positive changes will find that constituents seem to popup all over the place — almost magically. It’s simple: people want to be a part of something good.
Look at Tom’s Shoes. This great company donates a pair of shoes to someone — usually in a developing country — who is without a pair of shoes. Every time you purchase a pair, someone gets a pair for free. The positive reaction that Blake Mycoskie, founder, receives for his contributions to society are overwhelming.
Oprah knows this all too well. Oprah built an amazing community of followers through her immensely powerful and influential show, Oprah. Through her donations, selfless contributions to starving nation such as Africa, and her ongoing efforts to spread awareness of life-altering topics, Oprah has amassed a large following.
Now through that following, she is able to offer her widely successful magazine, O, The Oprah Book Club, and even produce hit plays and movies. Without her community, she would not of have the channel to distribute. Her positive contributions paved the way for her successful businesses.
Most of us know of Mike Arrington, the most popular voice of “Web 2.0.” His empire began by building a loyal community of tech readers interested in getting the lasted updates on their favorite Web 2.0 companies. This is how he built his following. Now look at Tech Crunch: it’s has branched out with a series of sites, conferences, and events. And it all began with a tech blog that did everything it could to provide excellent information, almost 24/7, to its readers.
The most successful and widely acclaimed businesses will not be the ones with the strongest ideas, but the ones that think of the business as an afterthought. I know… I know… how can I be saying to think of your business as an afterthought? Blasphemy! I must be crazy!
Well, no, it’s not crazy. When you strive to build a community around your idea and make that your priority, the business aspect will basically build itself, in time. The business will harness the accumulated power, influence, and hunger from the community. But without a strong foundation — a strong following — there will be no support beams for your business, no channels.
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Hi David,
Great post here. I really agree with you, and I am just now thinking that I need a bigger base for my energy bar company and I am coming up with multiple ways I can do that now.
Thanks for the reminder!
Hey Michael,
Glad that you liked the post! You can definitely build a strong and large base for your energy bar — just keep on adding value to the community, always. Keep at it!
Holy great article David!
hey michael
i eat energy/health bars every-so-often. i nearly ate every single major one, but for sustained energy/stamina: my vote goes to “powerbar”, by far. it really is ‘sustained’ energy, and not like just a burst like what most others provide
lol – the foodbar you show on your site…i think it’d appear overall better if there’s a wrapper/marketing on it. it’s not really appetizing to look at anyways – food/energy bars in general.
good luck
Thanks, Nate!
Hi Lawrence.
The reason I created my bar was because I competitively swam, and I thought Power Bars were the worst thing to put in my mouth in terms of taste. I wanted people to know what they were eating before purchasing. Simple and basic ingredients can have the same nutrition as all the crap they put in power bars.
The Vermont market is different than any other market in the country in my mind. They could care less about fancy packaging, and my bars are selling as I slowly but surely get my name out there. I’m proud of my product and will gladly show it to people, and not hide it behind packaging because it tastes like a brick.
Thank you though for your input, however.
hey david this is a great and inspiring article. it has given me the motivation to follow up on a community oriented intiative ive been slaking off on implementing. you shall always be the head and never the tail,Thanks
Thank you, Ladi. Glad that this article helped spark you into action — that’s what Mind Petals strives to do
Please keep us all in the loop of your progress. We’re in your corner!
Thanks