3 Ways Your Business Can Have a Positive Impact on Your Community
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It doesn’t matter what your business is, it is having an impact on the community. It might be that you own a cafe that brings people together, or you might have an office full of staff who commute in each day and go out for lunch. Either way, your community will be well aware of your presence. But you get to choose what sort of impact you have and realizing this is the first step to having a positive effect on your community.
When it comes to positive business, size rarely matters. Even a small business can have a great impact and often it’s the smaller businesses that make the most effort. Being a good business neighbor should be a given but there are all kinds of ways that you can integrate with your local community. Whether you choose to raise money for local causes or simply offer your services to other local businesses at a discount, here are 3 excellent reasons to get involved.
Work Your Network
Networking is a big part of owning a business and the bigger and more varied your network is, the more useful it will be. When it comes down to it, networking is the best way for businesses to make friends and find preferable deals too. Just as mates tend to do each other favors, people in your network are much more likely to help you and each other.
Working with other local companies is a great idea because you can pop in and out of each other’s premises quite easily and socialize too. Looking out for other local businesses is a really positive thing for your community as it should bring everyone up together. By working with other companies – and sometimes, even your direct competitors – you can learn from each other and make your local community even stronger.
Your network might focus on local businesses, but you should also look for other associations you can join. For example, you might like to join the Online Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in order to meet similar entrepreneurs around the country. Joining this kind of business group is ideal if you are looking for advice to help your business grow, or even if you are only thinking about starting up a new business.
Show Your Corporate Responsibility
More and more people are now waking up to the impact that businesses have and, as a result, consumers are demanding much more. Whether you are a small company with just a couple of employees or a multinational corporation, consumers expect you to take responsibility for the impact you have and to show that you truly care about the causes they are interested in. In other words, consumers expect you to take corporate social responsibility seriously.
There are lots of ways that you can demonstrate your corporate responsibility, but let’s start with what your business can do at home. Reducing your emissions, switching to green energy sources and making full use of any outdoor space you have to introduce trees and flowers are all great ways to show your environmental concerns. But there are other concerns to address too. You need to show that you are a fair opportunities employer, that you pay fairly and that you are willing to contribute to your community.
Getting involved in the local community can feel a bit strange to start with but as you get to know more people and your corporate social responsibility settles into a rhythm, it will gradually normalize. Hosting cake sales to raise funds for local charities is an easy way to show that you care, meet more people and open up your workplace to the public every once in a while. Similarly, sponsoring an event or a local club is a good way to help local people while putting your brand out there.
Encourage Local Growth
Small local businesses have all kinds of great effects on the local community. Small businesses often form the hub of a local area with people meeting up, shopping and eating together. As more small businesses converge, people tend to stay local when they shop, boosting the economy in the area and creating more local jobs.
But it is still down to businesses themselves to encourage others to join in. You might not fancy inviting a competitor to set up shop next door but by reaching out to people who might offer complementary services, you can quickly establish a local group. Helping each other out in business seems to go against all the competitive rule but the reality is that isolated businesses don’t do as well. In supporting a business that offers a complementary product or service, you can both double your potential customer base and reap the rewards.
By encouraging all the businesses in the local area to grow and develop, you are ensuring that your town remains competitive and attractive to customers. The more everyone gets to know each other, the more personalized businesses can become and the better connected with their customer base. This ideal isn’t just important for business owners, either, it’s really important for the local people who want to keep the unique aspects of their town.
There are so many ways you can integrate with your local area: by showing them that you are willing to make friends at social and networking events; by being responsible for your business and behaving with the community’s interests in mind; and, by encouraging local growth by welcoming new businesses. There is no better way to build trust with your customers than to show them how much their local area means to you as well.
As your business grows, you will undoubtedly find that your time is fleeting and there are a million and one other things you can be doing. But by continuing to support and have a positive impact on the place and people around you, your business will continue to stand out.
