How Your Small Business Can Give Back to the Community.

More millennials are setting up their own businesses or working as freelancers instead of settling for traditional employment. It’s a fact that around 66% of millennials hope to start their own business one day, with many never working as an employee.

This is fantastic. Starting a business is great for you. It means that you can work with flexibility and do things relatively on your own schedule. You’ll have a chance to make money and grow something that is important for you. You might even be able to employ other people and give them great opportunities. It’s also good for the economy and giving consumers options is never a bad thing. But, it can also be good for your local community.

As a small business, you might rely on word of mouth and the support of your community to survive those difficult first few months. So, it’s only right that you should be giving something back.

Partner with the Right People

Giving back to your community is great. But if you only work with big businesses, those without community practices or involvement, and companies that don’t give back, your impact locally can be minimal. Partner with people, and other businesses and entrepreneurs such as Elan Shukartsi who also work with the community to have the most significant impact.

Use Local Suppliers

A fantastic way to give back to your community is by using local suppliers and supporting other local businesses, especially new startups. By all working together, you can support each other, and help each other grow. You’ll also build a fantastic reputation and a network of handy contacts.

Participate Community Events

Your local community probably has countless events going on that you might not be aware of. There might be fares and fetes, fundraising events. Local schools might run special events. There might be networking meetings or charity functions. The best thing to do is become involved in your local community center and library, which can be a great source of information on what is going on nearby. The internet, of course, is another powerful tool.

Attend events, donate prizes and money and offer sponsorship, help with organization and management. Offer your services with advertising and getting the word out. If there’s not much going on, why not organize your own events, raising money for local causes, or networking with other businesses? It’s a great way to give back, but also to advertise your own business.

Share Your Knowledge

As a business owner and entrepreneur, you’ve probably gained a lot of knowledge in many different areas of industry. Sharing your knowledge and skills is a fantastic way to put something back into the local community. You could run workshops, offer tutoring or run a class at your local college. Or, you could hire apprentices and give local school children work experience.

Encourage Your Team to Do More

If you hire staff, they can also play their part. Encourage them to take part in events, but also to volunteer. Offer them time during their work hours to do charity work to make the commitment easier.