The Queen apparently calls the Royal Family “The Firm” which suggests she treats the whole thing rather like a business. Over the past four days we have seen that business in action. Indeed, in spite of her husband, HRH Prince Philip being admitted to hospital to treat an infection, the Diamond Jubilee activities were not curtailed. In the grand traditions of the kind of business in which the Royal Family work, they clearly thought “the show must go on”.

Indeed, on Tuesday morning The Queen was at St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London listening to The Most Reverend Rowan Williams, The Archbishop of Canterbury, talk about her dedication to her role. When the then Princess Elizabeth ascended to The Throne she stated she would dedicate her life to serving the peoples of the Commonwealth – something she has clearly done for six decades. Even if you are not an ardent Royalist, you cannot help but notice her total dedication to her task. Indeed, take a look at The Court Circular and you will find that HM The Queen and the rest of the Royal Family are involved in several hundreds of events each month. They hardly stop.

A recent valuation suggests that the Royal Family “firm” is worth more than Tesco and Marks & Spencer combined – a whopping £44billion. Dedication clearly has a value.

But compare the Royal Family’s dedication to many websites and online businesses and you see a stark contrast. You see companies which are set up only to be ignored by their owners, clearly hoping the line “built it and they will come” is actually true.  Or there are web firms which run a seemingly successful business, but don’t update their website very often, or take four days to answer an email.

The web is actually littered with businesses who show a lack of dedication to their customers, the people they serve.

The Queen, on the other hand, appears totally dedicated to her peoples around the world – her customers for her firm. It is a reminder that dedicating yourself to your audience, your customers, your buyers, means that you will enjoy success. Far too many online business owners appear dedicated to THEIR OWN profits, or THEIR OWN success. As Rowan Williams reminded us on Tuesday morning, when you concentrate on the people you are serving, you benefit much more.

It is all a poke in the ribs for many online business owners – stop focusing on yourself and dedicate your activity to the people you serve.

Related articles

• Diamond Jubilee: Queen voted favourite monarch of all time – Telegraph.co.uk (telegraph.co.uk)
• For Queen Elizabeth, a Google doodle of diamonds and doggies – Christian Science Monitor (csmonitor.com)