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Build It and They Will Come?  Not Really!

by Kenneth Catto

One of my favorite movies is "Field of Dreams." An ordinary guy had a dream, one that was looked upon as being a very odd dream.

But he worked and carried through with the dream of building a baseball field in the midst of his cornfield. And the players came. And the fans came.

One of the most famous lines of that movie was the phrase, "If you build it, they will come."

Yet while I really like the movie and would like to make the application to websites, it just doesn't fit. It would be nice if it did, but it just doesn't fit.

Many people today are carrying through with the dream of having their own business by building a website online. The Internet may be the "Cyberspace Field of Dreams" for some. But that famous saying just doesn't cut it online.

Think about it for a second. The guy in the movie was building something totally unique to its surroundings. It created attention all by itself.

But too often what is built online is about as unique as all the cornstalks in Iowa. They just don't stand out at all.

We can learn from the movie "Field of Dreams" however. Here are a few things to consider:

1) It's okay to follow our dreams. The Internet has opened up the possibilities for many people to follow their dreams. We can build a business that can stretch around the world, and that's something that couldn't be so easily done just a few years ago.

2) Hard work pays off. Our movie star worked hard to build his baseball field, and we need to work hard as well to build our "Field of Dreams" online. Our hard work doesn't stop when our "field" is built. Instead, another phase of it starts as we work to let people know about our "field" and why they should visit, participate and buy.

3) It pays to do it right. Don't go halfway in following your dreams. Do it right. It may take longer, but it will be more fulfilling in the end. In the movie, the guy built the whole field, not just the infield. If the dream is our own website, build the whole thing, not just the "infield."

4) Make your dream stand out. In the movie, the "field" was very obvious, very unique. It brought attention to itself. Your dream is yours, it's unique. Put your personal stamp on it. Make it stand out from the crowd. Make it be like the baseball field in the movie, and not like one of cornstalks beyond the outfield.

5) The work isn't done when it's built. A baseball field needs maintenance after it's built. And it's the same with your own "field of dreams." Make sure that you're keeping current, providing your visitors and customers with up to date design and content.

So, go, create your own "field of dreams" online, but know when it's built, your work has just begun.

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