Can A Small Business…

At the end of every summer, Burning Man brings 50,000 celebrants to the desert. It has become an institution and a valuable business.Founded in 1986, Burning Man is an annual weeklong event in Nevada's Black Rock Desert at which some 50,000 people build a temporary city and celebrate with art, music, and a burning of a 40-foot effigy known as "the Man." Created by Larry Harvey, it has become an institution and, as it happens, a valuable business. As told to Issie Lapowsky.I suffer from an excess of idealism.

Big businesses need to lighten up, get creative and take a few cues from small business owners.It's usually assumed that when it comes to marketing, small businesses can always learn from their larger counterparts, right? Chances are, the big guys have survived their fair share of marketing campaigns, whether good, bad or downright ugly. Factor in an ample marketing budget and a well-paid marketing team and they're probably light years ahead of smaller businesses. But is that really the case