3 ways that giving back to your community can help grow your business

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We often approach charity and giving within the community from a very business-focused perspective. We look at how write-offs help a business decrease their tax burden and increase their bottom line. We don’t often look at how businesses that are active and involved in their community can actually grow their businesses to levels they may not have considered. Let’s talk.

Increase exposure

One of the most important tasks of any business that’s trying to grow is increasing its exposure. There’s a truism within the business community that finding your first 100 customers is the most difficult task that any business faces. Many businesses know to advertise in local media, run contents on social media, and encourage the customers they have to bring in family and friends, but a less commonly acknowledged option is to look for a local community event to sponsor or fund.

There are many ways to approach this. The best benefits come from involving your business with events that ties in neatly. A company that sells hardware and house paint, for example, might connect with a local theater company to donate or discount set building materials. A screen printer might offer a discount or a free quality upgrade to T-shirts purchased for a run or walk event. A boutique clothing company might offer returned or damaged items to a company that gives interview quality clothing to people who are rejoining the workforce after some time.
By tying your business’s name to a charity or organization, you create positive exposure for your business.

Strengthen and grow community
When you give to your community, you not only create a better community for your business to operate in, you create more customers for your business. Small businesses are often considered the backbone of their community, and this is one of the many reasons why. As businesses grow larger, they often keep their eyes on larger charities, and less intimate customer interactions. Small businesses are sometimes more able to focus on smaller causes and smaller gifts which can still have large and important effects.

Networking with clients and employees

When your business partners with local events, not only are you supporting community, you are putting yourself into the community as a professional employer. When people are looking for employment, they’re always told that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. When employers are looking for the absolute best employees, the same holds true. This is also a great opportunity to reach local leaders and influencers.

Supporting events financially is important, but attending local events with a stack of business cards and giveaway items is also important. When you give away promotional items, you set yourself up in customer’s minds as a business willing to give back, but you also have something you can easily offer a prospective employee when you tell them to give you a call. You can start up conversations about your business, employee benefits, talk about what you’re looking for, and hear from a potential employee what they might have to offer.

You can also connect with clients, both those who might be able to support your business, and those who might be able to benefit you with a service or mentorship.

No business exists in a vacuum. While no one likes an entrepreneur who turns every conversation into a sales pitch, there are huge benefits to communities that are served by successful small businesses. By building your community, you build your business, and vice versa.

Margarita Hakobyan
CEO and founder of MoversCorp.com, an online marketplace of local moving companies and storage facilities. Business women, wife and mother of two with bachelor's degree from the University of Utah with a concentration in International Studies and a Masters Degree also from the University of Utah with a degree in International business.

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