Dec 19 07 - 02:49 PM
Carl Frankel is the founder of Our Community Networks and operates www.ourhudsonvalley.net, a thriving Matchbin Marketplace based in upstate New York. After two years of riding the entrepreneurial wave with us, Carl gained some valuable knowledge he agreed to pass along.

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We’re a socially responsible company with a threefold social mission: build community, support local businesses, and help protect the environment. Two years ago, I decided to leave a local website development company for Matchbin. It was one of those critical business decisions that will make or break a company. I was upping the ante … going all in … betting on a big vision. Matchbin was an important piece of the puzzle for us because a key part of our strategy is to effectively connect people online. Partnering with them was pretty risky. The company was promising me a much more robust and expansion-friendly platform to work with than anyone else, but at the time this was more concept than reality. Plus, I was making myself dependent on a company that had its own will, its own needs, and for all I knew its own dysfunctions. I was entering into a marriage, in other words, and we all know how often marriages go South. I’m happy to say this marriage is working out. As a small businessman, I couldn’t possibly have gotten to the promising place I am today without Matchbin. I didn’t have the technical knowledge; I didn’t have the money; I didn’t have the time. Hey, I’ve even got a team of crack software engineers working for me, and I’m not even paying their salaries! That’s not to say we haven’t had our challenges. Both businesses have gone through a steep learning curve over the years, learning often from each other. We’ve firmed up our business models, the software has gone from beta to boogeying, and we’ve learned (and are still learning!) from our customers what works and what doesn’t. After this long period of gestation, our child is bracing to exit the birth canal, hale and hearty, a bright future ahead. Our latest success has come in the form of a more complete advertising solution for local product and service providers. By blending Matchbin business tools, member benefits and our banner ad program we have created a unique advertising opportunity that we call Premium Membership. Since launch of our complete advertising package, our revenue has been doubling monthly. If there’s one thing I’ve learned during these past two years, it’s this: you can’t push the river. You might have a great idea but it will blossom when it’s ready, not a minute before. Entrepreneurship is, among other things, a test of faith. You believe in yourself, you believe in your vision, you believe in your people and your partners—and then your faith is tested, not just once, but over and over again. More than two years ago, I put my faith in Matchbin and I’m glad I did. The vision we shared is coming true.