Feature Article

People still speak of the “American Dream.” In our modern land of plenty, that dream has become as diverse as the face of our nation’s people. While everyone’s version varies, most invariably lead back to one thing: business success and financial security.

While the goal of making money and getting ahead has remained the same, the types of businesses through which people have sought their success have changed.

Early America saw farming and other home-based endeavors as the primary means of support. But as the wheels of mechanization began to turn, the Industrial Age was introduced and people began to see industry as a way out and a means up. At the same time, mass media was born, perpetuating and circulating the unified American Dream of doing/having/being better than before. Suddenly, clothes became fashions; cigarettes became chic; and a whole host of pills, creams and tonics became cure-alls for “what ails you,” complete with claims more ambitious than even those of today’s infomercials.

Together, the gritty gears of industry and the slick start of advertising sparked the magic of the marketplace and created a mass culture of producers and consumers—the emphasis being, of course, on the latter.

In a 1907 issue of Survey magazine, social worker and editor Edward Devine lamented how industry and its products had come between farm and home, country and city, people and their priorities. He wrote that, “[h]ome has ceased to be the glowing center of production. [It has become] a place of consumption, not of production.”

And so it has gone, American business and conspicuous consumerism, hand-in-hand, providing widespread profits along the way. Widespread, that is, until computers and efficiency experts perfected the art of competitive market strategy, forcing the flow of dollars and cents into the cash registers of the chosen few. In most parts of the country, the “Mom and Pop” shops have all but disappeared, crushed by the competition of Wal-Mart and other markdown Meccas.

While Americans embrace big business for the comforts of consumerism, they have also grown to despise and distrust it—especially in light of recent scandals and economic stalemate. When the “man (or woman) behind the curtain” is CEO of Corruption, Inc., (or Enron, WorldCom, etc.), we remember how we developed our distaste—even if the curtain covering the questionable activity is one tastefully chosen from K-Mart’s Martha Stewart collection.

As recent years have ushered us from the Industrial Age into the Information Age, pundits have argued that the “old rules” of business and economics no longer apply. (Although, apparently some of the existing business heavy hitters weren’t playing by the old rules, either.) Supposedly, the Internet revolution, with its bold new technology and boisterous promises, called for a page-one rewrite of the book of business.

On the surface, such an assumption seems reasonable; the very logistics of “old” and “new” business are in stark contrast. The industrial revolution was fueled by mechanization and the sweat of many generations’ brow. The Internet revolution advanced through technology and the brainwork of many computer nerds—with Al Gore’s all-important assistance, of course.

This new system, an all-in-one center for customer acquisition, merchandising and, in some cases, delivery has been all too tempting for many ill-fated start-ups. The days of any-old-website-will-do and people-will-buy-it-because-it’s-a-novelty are gone; the dam has seemingly slammed shut on the river of venture capital funds that once flowed freely.

But with any failure comes the opportunity for lessons learned. As many dot-com dreams have gone down the drain, smart Internet entrepreneurs have implemented some of those tired old tried-and-true business strategies and found success. With the realization that the new economy is akin to the old one, click-and-mortar has become more of an entrepreneurial science than a laymen’s experiment.

So, in this precarious age of old and new rules, who is making it? A variety of people are turning a profit, of course, through adventures in e-commerce. (One look at the online flea market that is eBay proves this.) But two distinct pioneers of profit stand out in today’s virtual marketplace: the opportunists and the true entrepreneurs.

The opportunists exist simply because the concept of “e-tailing” has such appeal. By offering “foolproof” means of making one’s e-commerce dreams come true, opportunists play upon people’s continual urge to fulfill their version of the great American Dream.

After all, who could resist the programs like The Internet Treasure Chest or, better yet, Make $4,000 A Day, Sitting At Your Kitchen Table In Your Underwear? But, then again, if the secrets are so outstanding, why would any good competitive capitalist want to share them? Because, in the words of the great George W. Bush, “If you believe anything, you’ll stand for nothing.” This time, Dubya was right. Most of us, “we the sheeple,”—the middle-class backbone of society—will follow our desire to succeed, often without even calculating the risk of failure.

In the end, the true entrepreneurs—often those with past business experience—are setting up shop and taking over the new economy. Former power players of the “old” economy are delving into virtual ventures. Many are making a go of Internet-based (a great deal of them home-based) businesses, creating a cocooning effect of insulation from corporate America that even Edward Devine would be proud of.

Jon Blatt, formerly of Harvard Management Company, used his marketing degree and technological expertise to launch his own high-end Web design and development firm, Grindstone Web (www.grindstoneweb.com).

“My ideas and innovations were better suited for something dynamic and forward-thinking. I simply couldn’t wait around for middle management to catch up with me,” says Blatt. “Plus, my income—which was good before—has tripled.”

Another Internet entrepreneur with former employers in high places, such as Microsoft, Yahoo and eBay, is Tobias Ritesman. Author of Internet Underground: The Way of the Hacker (PageFree: 2002) as well as CEO and mastermind of Callidus Ventures (www.callidus-ventures.com), a concierge service supreme designed to “serve the elite,” Ritesman’s vision—and his success—is extraordinary.  

When asked why he took his Ph.D. in philosophy and technical securities expertise and used them to realize such lofty ideas, Ritesman says, “Like most things I’ve tried, I just wanted to see if it could be done. I had the connections and was able to get the start-up capital, so I decided to go for it.”

The thing that Blatt and Ritesman—and now many dot-com busts—know is that the Internet did not change all of the rules. The simple novelty of putting an “i” in front of something does not make it special (unless, of course, you are Apple Computers or Polaroid).

Success in the new economy follows the same principles as success in the old one: capability, consistency and competitive advantage. In the end, the rules of business are much the same. And so is the American dream.

About the Author:

April Brinkley runs a boutique PR agency with clients from around the globe. 
Her Internet-based business, www.aneatlittlepackage.com, is based in rural Missouri, 
an area where some people still engage in the pre-Industrial practice of farming for a living.

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