Giving back by giving back - How small business can support their community

Nan Berrett - Word Solutions


A book about doing good when you are a small business owner


I was lucky enough to win a copy of a great book ‘Doing Good, by Doing Good’ by Peter Baines which talks about the importance of having strategies in your business which can help organisations transform the communities they work with through charitable activities.

As a solo-preneur (and silverpreneur) I don’t have a corporate structure of employees to help me give back to my community, but this shouldn’t stop anyone from giving back.

I’ve always been one of those people who put their hand up for everything – from helping in the school canteen when I could, to getting involved in kids pony club and so on. For more than 15 years my focus turned to being an active member of a local service club, Zonta International. Zonta focusses on empowering women worldwide to be the best they can be, raising them up through education, health initiatives and more.

To me, giving back is so important. It makes others feel good, which then, in return, makes me feel good. - Katie Cassidy

 Although I'm no longer a Zontian, I still continue to support my community where I can. Currently I am a member of a small committee organising the 25th SA Rural Women's Gathering in Clare in 2023. This event attracts regional and rural women to a weekend of workshops and networking and is held in a different regional/rural town every year.

I also organise a monthly get together of local women in business - Rural Business Chics - which provides a chance for us to share our news and business 'wins' as well as learning something interesting.

And in between these ‘official’ involvements I lend a hand where I can in the areas I have some expertise in. I can’t seem to help myself!

A strong volunteering culture in all communities enriches everyone, both the volunteer and recipients. Whether you get involved in environmental initiatives, taking care of local parklands and gardens, deliver Meals on Wheels, run classes for the University of the Third Age, bake for trading tables, or myriad other things, you are improving your personal wellbeing as well as the lives of those around you.

Running our own businesses can be time consuming and it’s hard to make a space for additional work, but even the smallest contribution can have a huge impact.

If you don’t want to commit to regular involvement in a service club or other organisation think about offering a couple of hours of assistance to a local project. Sure, you can donate money or products to help out, but it’s a lot more satisfying to donate some of your time.

As a business owner, think about volunteering in your community.

Some ideas, which can involve your employees too if you have a small workforce, include running a Biggest Morning Tea for cancer research, getting involved in the Leukaemia Foundation’s World’s Greatest Shave (volunteer a spouse, partner or relative and help them fundraise) and other great fundraisers.

No one has ever become poor from giving.

- Anne Frank

If you have specific business skills you could offer to create a logo for a community group, do some marketing for them, write a media release, help with social media, look over their books, service a vehicle for a charity organisation, donate items to an op shop – the ideas are endless. And along the way you will reap the benefits of getting your business associated with giving back.


Nan Berrett creates visibility for small business as well as mentoring small business owners and startups to help them navigate the mountain of knowledge which is part of our everyday life in a digital world. She is based in regional South Australia in the beautiful Clare Valley and is happy to travel to meet clients or chat over Zoom. Find out more or book some time to chat: nan@wordsolutions.com.au


Nan Berrett of Word Solutions business visibility specialist and small business mentor



Location: Clare Valley, Clare SA 5453, Australia

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why we shouldn't multitask - it doesn't work!

Image
We think we’re clever when we multitask –  don’t do it! We pride ourselves on our ability to do more than one task at a time, to split our brains into sections which focus on different jobs concurrently! Yep, we can do that. It’s very clever of us, but it comes at a cost. The multitasking we do results in more errors and stress and eventually leads to burnout. Last week I wrote about chasing shiny objects and being easily distracted from our core work as a result – multi-tasking is a bit like that. We distract ourselves from all the tasks we are trying to do by thinking about too many things. It may work for a while, or it may work for minor unimportant things, but long term it doesn’t work at all. Because we live in such a fast-paced world we feel under pressure to get more things done more quickly, but there is increasing scientific evidence that multi-tasking isn’t the productivity booster we once thought it would be. It can do more harm than good. Multi-tasking can do more
Read more

7 Productivity Tips to combat disruption

Image
7 Productivity & Organisational tips when your routine is disrupted I like structure and moving in straight lines. I keep a bullet journal with daily tasks and a habit tracker and my best work days are those when I know that I’ll be in my office to get stuff done. This year has been one of huge disruption for my husband and me – he has been on a lengthy recovery journey from cancer surgery and complications which have already lasted 12 months and are likely to go on for another 6-8 months until he achieves full recovery. We live rurally, in the Clare Valley, South Australia, and his treatment has been at hospitals over 100km away from our home. There have been many days of hospital stays, several surgeries and daily treatments going over several months. The weekly travel kilometres have been astonishing, and there have been   many days on the road. As a result, my structure, organisation and productivity have taken a hit and I’ve had to look at ways to manage my need for order
Read more

I retired and started my own business

Image
  I’ve been agonising about content for a regular blog and have finally decided to blog the truth – not really revelationary, but interesting all the same. Not the truth of secrets best kept in their cupboard, but the truth of how I am managing as a sole trader, newish business owner and someone who has reached retirement age but who also still very much wants to reach her full potential. Like many people I have dreamt of being my own boss. Having experienced both good, bad and indifferent management styles, I always thought I would be the best boss in the world – the jury’s still out on that one, as I have been my only employee until recently, and I work myself very hard and don’t reward enough, but that’s another story. By the time I left my last job as an employee nearly nine years ago my confidence in my ability to carry over my skills to another environment wasn’t very high. I had been working as a full-time journalist in a rural newspaper and didn’t have the capacity to sta
Read more