What do bees and SMBs have in common?
When you were first introduced to our platform, did you ever wonder, "Huh, why bees?"
Well, we have many reasons (besides the slick black and yellow color scheme and the obvious puns) for associating our brand with bees. As we explained in an early blog post, bees have long been associated with teamwork and a strong work ethic. In fact, bees are such hard workers that some cultures even have a creation legend about bees! The volume of poetry in English literature dedicated to bee symbolism and the work ethic of bees has continued this association since ancient times, from Isaac Watts's "How doth the little busy bee / Improve each shining hour, / And gather honey all the day / From every opening flower" to Emily Dickenson's "To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee." For centuries, the bee has not only been associated with hard work, but also with teamwork: fourth-century Catholic bishop St. John Chrysostom wrote, "The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others." Of course, we here at B2BeeMatch are all about working hard and working together.
We believe that small businesses are hardworking and collaborative—just like bees! That's part of why we use the bee symbol in our branding. But that's not the only reason. Bees and small and medium businesses (SMBs) share a lot of similarities. Keep reading to discover more about what bees and SMBs have in common!
Bees and SMBs can adapt quickly
One reason that bees are our animal here at B2BeeMatch is that both bees and SMBs are incredibly adaptable.
If bees are dealing with an uncomfortable bee hive, a lack of food or water, overpopulation, disturbances to the hive or other problems, they have the amazing ability to “swarm”—sending a group of bees out to look for a new and better place for the colony to live where they can survive and thrive. They are resilient and will actively search for solutions if their current situation is not serving them.
Like bees, SMBs are able to adapt, partly due to their small size, which allows them to be more flexible and more innovative than larger corporations. Since they are a fraction of the size of multinationals, it's easier for SMBs to quickly change the way they operate to accommodate sudden difficulties (for example, a pandemic). SMBs have the freedom to be innovative in ways that that may be considered too risky to attempt in larger companies with established methods. SMBs are more open to new ideas and trying new things. These qualities make SMBs resilient during major economic changes. As well, these qualities make SMBs more creative and impactful.
Bees and SMBs are essential to their ecosystems
In recent years, there has been increased concern about the bee population worldwide. This concern comes from the massive amount of work that bees perform. bees perform roughly 80% of the pollination for all flowering plants worldwide. Native bees are responsible for one in every three bites of food you eat. Since a single bee colony can pollinate up to 300 million flowers per day, bees are absolutely vital to the health of their ecosystems and to the health of the planet. It's no wonder that bee symbolism in ancient cultures often included an understanding of the life cycle, from birth to death.
Just like bees perform the majority of the pollination that we need for an ecosystem to survive and thrive, SMBs make up the majority of businesses globally, representing around 90% of businesses and 50% of employment. Formal SMBs contribute approximately 40% of national income (GDP) in emerging economies. They are vital to their ecosystems, to the economic health of society—just as bees are vital to their ecosystems, to the environmental health of the planet.
Bees and SMBs thrive on diversity and collaboration
Bees rely on a diversity of roles within the hive to keep operations running smoothly. Within a colony, bees of different ages and abilities carry out different tasks: some are architects, some are foragers, some are queens and some do other things. They build the hive, produce food, make baby bees and more! Without all these bees working together, the colony would not survive.
In addition, bees promote biodiversity in nature through pollination, pollinating 87.5% of flowering plant species that are pollinated by animals. Large, mono-culture farming—a shortage of diversity—is one of the reasons bees have suffered from loss of habitat and pesticides.
In short: Bees thrive on diversity and collaboration! But did you know that SMBs do too?
SMBs fill different roles in our society and economy. Think about a small salon, an independent coffee shop and a boutique marketing agency. They provide different things to different people, right? But they all help society and the economy continue to function, grow and develop.
As well, through offline business networking and online business networking via B2BeeMatch, SMBs can meet and work together to share, learn, grow and stay competitive in today's marketplace. Think about a big business hair salon that offers the status quo—it's good, not too expensive, so you keep going back. Now, think about scrolling through Instagram and seeing a cute sponsored post for a small salon that just started serving that great coffee from that independent coffee shop you love. Their services are a bit more expensive, but... that coffee! You're in! That's how collaboration works in favor of SMBs. They can combine their products, services, expertise and capabilities to compete with larger businesses. Because, sure, a smaller business might mean a narrow scope, but it can also mean big quality and specialization. So, when SMBs come together, both they and their clients have the opportunity to benefit in big ways.
Bees and SMBs are symbiotic and interdependent
Another thing that applies to SMBs and bees is symbiosis and interdependence.
Native bees rely on flowering plants to build up their food stores, and a shortage of available food can lead to starvation, colony collapse, or hive abandonment. Flowering plant species, in turn, rely on the pollinating power of bees for survival, and dwindling bee populations can spell disaster for crops and native plants alike. So, bees and flowering plants rely on each other in order to survive and thrive.
Because SMBs are small and specialized, they can use business networking to find the products and services they need to ensure each other’s survival. Like bees, small businesses can help each other to grow and develop by fostering collaboration through using each other's services and sharing resources, brain power, and even large projects.
Bees and SMBs are endangered due to multinationals
Another thing that unfortunately can apply to bees and SMBs is fragility in the face of multinationals.
Around the world, bee colonies are collapsing because of pesticide use and habitat loss, much of which can be attributed to factory farming and rapid, large-scale industrialization. However, with some care and attention, we can protect these industrious creatures and continue to enjoy the benefits of their hard work into the future.
Like bees, SMBs often face threats from larger companies that could absorb or outcompete them. For example, from 2013-2017, Google, Facebook, and Amazon acquired 182 companies.The ability of multinationals to acquire successful smaller companies, as well as easily mass produce products, driving down prices, means that entrepreneurs are struggling to start and sustain new and innovative businesses. In the US, the number of businesses created annually has fallen by more than 65% since 1980. Luckily, with offline business networking and online business networking, we can continue to protect our SMBs and reap their economic benefits into the future!
Bees and SMBs are fragile
Although bees are incredibly resilient and adaptable, they also face many dangers. Entire bee colonies can sometimes die from condensation, starvation, cold, loss of a queen bee, varroa infestation, pesticide poisoning, chronic bee paralysis, or other problems that are hard to diagnose. If conditions are not just right inside the hive and in the surrounding environment, bees can face hive collapse.
The struggles that bee hives face are a helpful symbol of the difficulties SMBs experience. For example, the majority of SMBs cite lack of access to finance as their largest barrier to growth. And, although large corporations are already absorbing SMBs at an alarming rate, significant amounts of government spending go to multinationals rather than SMBs. Amazon received $1.5 billion in government subsidies from 2000-2018. This leaves SMBs increasingly vulnerable to anything from a bad business decision to a cyberattack.
We believe in bees and SMBs
Bees are our animals here at B2BeeMatch because they are hard working, collaborative, absolutely vital to their ecosystems, and need their interests protected for the future—just like SMBs!
Also... bees are super cute
Thanks for reading about what bees and SMBs have in common. We hope we've shed a little light on the official reasons why we picked bees for our branding. But, also... they're super cute, right?! Their fuzzy little butts! So adorable! On that note...
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