Giving back and more

     Free daily tips, information, advice and ideas
     to help you better manage your small business.

     Giving back and making a difference are constant mantras today. We hear these admonitions at every turn.

     Well, by its very existence, your small business is giving back and making a difference. Every time you open your door, answer your phone, or post to social media, you are contributing to your community.

     Your business provides for peoples' daily wants and needs. Your services and products are vital parts of people's daily lives.

     Example: Dawn owns an embroidery service. She has several of the machines and has computerized outputs that handle logos and other fancy items. She puts names on uniforms for other companies as well as sports teams. Sometimes, local sports teams cannot afford the costs, so she offers discounts and sometimes freebies to deserving groups. These involvements help Dawn with on-going as well as new business.

     Example: Joe is an organic farmer, supplying local foods to local restaurants, farm markets, and other venues. To keep his reputation spreading, he offers free tours to local school kids. This creates excitement and referrals for his produce. Kids and teachers alike learn how food is produced, where it comes from and how it's prepared for consumption. 

     These two simple examples show how a small business can become more involved with the local community. Garden centers and florists, repair shops and printing operations, massage therapists and holistic practitioners, and other small businesses can reach out into the community in various ways at virtually no cost to the business.

     This is giving back and making a difference in real ways. It's not just a feel good activity. It's much more. 

     Put on your thinking cap. Come up with ways that involve your community. An event, for example, can inform and educate--potters can offer free demonstrations showing how pottery is formed, and chiropractors can demonstrate exactly how they help people with their health problems. 

     Big companies can afford to build a stadium with the company name on it. You have to do more with less. But the benefits can be the same. 

     Giving back and making a difference is something you already do. But you can expand your community involvement with all sorts of activities.