By Wyn Lydecker and Ed McLaughlin
My friend texted me, I’m
in the Rose Room at the New York Public Library. I’m getting some work done. In
the throes of starting her own business and taking meetings in New York City,
my friend found the library to be the perfect refuge and work environment.
When I go to our local library in Darien, Connecticut, the
main reading room is filled with people using their laptops. A librarian told
me that most of them were working on their business. Downstairs, virtually
every seat is taken in the technology room. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the
difference between an incubator, a co-working space, and the library.
My coauthor, Ed McLaughlin, is very attached to the library.
It’s where his company, USI, was born. As long as the local library was open, he
and his early partners would lock themselves in a study room, basking in the
air conditioning and figuring out their business model. The library provided
an escape the cottage Ed and his family had moved into to reduce their expenses
and minimize personal risk while he toiled at his startup.
Public libraries have been great places to go in the U.S.
since the first one appeared on
the scene in Peterborough, New Hampshire in 1833. When large-scale book
digitization and Internet
dissemination came on the scene, however, some people
worried it would spell the end of this great institution. But that doesn’t seem
to be so. NPR tells us that libraries
are still the place people go to get guidance from knowledge experts.
Although technology might seem like it would draw patrons away from the
brick-and-mortar search facilities, it turns out that heavy library users are
also heavy technology users. The New York Times gives a peek at the
library’s future, integrated with the digital world and welcoming patrons
in with open doors and arms.
Some libraries are transforming themselves into incubators
for entrepreneurs with their quiet and access to WiFi and technology. My local
library has gone out of its way to offer business, media, and technology
services. I often hold client meetings in my library, and I’ve learned that
patrons can use a 3-D printer, a Bloomberg terminal, and video editing
software. You can even get coffee and a snack on the main level. The library in
nearby Stamford, CT, has become the host of 1 Million Cups – a forum to connect
local entrepreneurs through monthly presentations.
Your local library may have meeting rooms you can use for
free or for a reasonable fee. Can’t find the research you need? Librarians
can be an amazingly helpful resource for entrepreneurs who are seeking to do
in-depth market and competitive analyses. They are not only up on the
latest Google search tricks, they can show you how to access databases,
financial filings, and industry association journals.
It is my hope that libraries will continue to be a haven of
inspiration to the next generation of entrepreneurs. Maybe you’ll be one of
them.
Ed
McLaughlin and Wyn Lydecker are coauthors of “The Purpose Is Profit: Secrets of a
Successful Entrepreneur from Startup to Exit,” winner of the 2017 Axiom Book
Award in Entrepreneurship. Available on Amazon
or at your local bookstore.
Copyright © 2017 All rights reserved.
