A teacher once told me that one of the best ways to learn about the people you want to be like is to read books about them (by the way… I still do that to this day).  By learning as much about them as you can, it helps you 1) decide if they're really worth learning from and 2) learn what makes them stand out as a good role model.

Business is no different.

I try to keep tabs on the up-and-comers in as many business markets as possible.  When a company emerges and begins to become successful for one reason or another, I invest a little extra time getting to know what makes them different.  By the time these companies come to town, I'm familiar with some of their business practices.  But I also like to see what sets them apart and makes them different from the consumer perspective.  So whenever a new, successful company opens its doors in Springfield, I always go pay them a visit.

Sometime in the past couple of weeks we got a Guitar Center.  Even though I don't own (or want to own) a guitar, I was already aware of the company's excellent run over the past few years.  I spent the lunch hour today browsing around the newly opened Guitar Center and I can see why they've been successful lately.  They seem to fill a niche that a lot of people have a passion for.  And not only do they allow you to try things out in the store (something most music stores frown on), but they also  have great employees. 

After visiting the store I got to thinking about an article I read at The Motley Fool a few years ago.  It's from 2002 and basically serves as a warning to investors to ditch the then $18/share Guitar Center stock.  At the time, The Fool didn't like Guitar World all that much.  But look at their stock since then:  it's looking like a space shuttle headed straight up.  It's more than doubled in price and is currently sitting right around the $43 mark.  Of course, the only problem with space shuttle stocks is that they're more likely to explode than others.

No… this isn't a stock advice post.  It is, however, an advice post that will hopefully cause you to think.  When was the last time you went offline to learn about something online?  Oh it's true - stock prices and Internet marketing aren't directly related.  But The Fool might have had a different, more accurate perspective of Guitar Center if they'd taken the time to actually visit the store and see what made the company stand out.

And you can do the same thing when expanding and developing your online business.  Don't spend all of your time online.  Get out and look at the offline examples of similar businesses.  See what you can learn from successful companies - even local ones - that you can apply to your own business. 

Even though we do the majority of our business online, there's a lot to be learned out and about in the offline world.