Tag: local business

Trevor Marca: 5 Ways Your Business Can Contribute to the Community

If you’re a business owner or an entrepreneur and you want to give back to your community, you may be surprised to learn that it’s not that difficult. There are a number of benefits for businesses that help the community. Giving back reflects positively on the business, builds better relationships between you and your customers, and helps advertise your services. Keep reading to learn about 5 different ways you can help your community.

Support a Charity

Donating to charity is one of the easiest ways to give back to the community. Not only will a donation campaign help raise awareness for your brand, you will also have a positive impact. There are many different ways that you can raise funds for charity. Some businesses donate the profits from a particular item to charity. You can also organize a fundraising event like a 5K race, or you can let employees participate in a “dress-down” day in exchange for a small donation. In some cases, it may be a good idea to team up with another local business and participate in some sort of competition to raise money for charities.

Go Green

Saving energy is a great way to help the environment and support the community. The last thing that any business should do is add unnecessary waste to the community where it resides. In most cases, green initiatives save money in the long term. Green initiatives also show community members that you care about how you conduct business—an attractive quality to potential customers. One of the easiest ways to go green is to recycle and use environmentally-friendly light bulbs. You can also consider installing solar panels on the roof of your building. Green initiatives are great for the community, and they may even save you money on taxes. Take a look at this article to learn more about the benefits of going green.

Pro Bono Services

One of the best ways to support the community is to give away your services for free. You can either donate the goods you sell, or you can provide your services free-of-charge to community members who are in need. The community will thank you for your generosity, and your business will gain respect.

Free Training

Get to know your community members by hosting a training event. For example, if you are involved in technology, you can teach people how to use computers. You don’t always have to look outside of your business to help the community. By offering your employees training opportunities, you benefit the community. Community members will understand that your business cares about the growth of its employees and customers will be happy to support you.

Landscape

Sprucing up the landscape of your business is one of the easiest ways to benefit the community. By planting a few trees and flowers you will also contribute to employee happiness. Numerous studies show that time spent outside contributes to a person’s well-being. Give your employees an area where they can take a break and enjoy nature. You’ll make the community look prettier and your employees will be happier.

4 Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs

By Trevor Marca

On February 10, 2017

In Community Builder, Trevor Marca

Good habits make great entrepreneurs. This is true whether your work focuses on social entrepreneurship or not. Oftentimes, finding success as an entrepreneur is just a matter of finding the right habits and sticking with them. At the very least, when you eliminate bad habits you gain more time and a clearer perspective on how to reach your goals. Keep reading to learn about some of the best habits that every entrepreneur should have.

Get Up Early

One of Benjamin Franklin’s most famous sayings is “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” The saying is more than just a cute rhyme. Waking up early gives you a jumpstart on the day’s activities. Some people choose to get up early so that they can workout and feel energized for the day. You can also get up early to work on any number of projects that you’ve been meaning to tackle. If you’re not a morning person start by getting up 10 minutes earlier each day for one week. Then get up 20 minutes earlier during the second week. You’ll eventually be able to get up an hour before you usually do.

Express Gratitude

Attitude is everything. If you only focus on the setbacks and roadblocks you encounter, you’ll make it difficult to find success. On the other hand, if you remain grateful for the positive things you have in life—not just career-related things but friends and family—you’ll feel a lot more satisfied and happy. A grateful attitude ensures that you don’t take anything for granted, and it’s one of the first steps of adopting an optimistic attitude. Read this article to learn more about how feeling grateful can lead to success.

Smile

Smiling is one of the simplest habits you can pick up, and it’s also one of the most beneficial. Did you know that people who smile tend to be happier? While that might seem obvious, you can begin to feel happier just by making a conscious effort to smile. Body language often dictates how we feel. If you sit slouched over and frown for the majority of the day, then there’s a good chance that you won’t feel too happy. Your mind takes its cue from your body language. Yet it’s difficult to feel down when you adopt a power pose and smile. Make the effort to smile more, and you’ll quickly feel the benefits.

Exercise

Exercise is one of the best habits that you can incorporate into your daily routine. There are a number of benefits to exercise including better sleep, improved mood, and more energy. You don’t have to workout every day to see results. Three days per week is a good routine to aim for. Being an entrepreneur is a demanding job. Physical activity will help ensure that you stay healthy and your mind stays clear.

Tips For Starting A Nonprofit

By Trevor Marca

On January 11, 2017

In Social Entrepreneurship, Trevor Marca

Starting a nonprofit is one of the best ways to make a positive impact on the world. While profit isn’t the main motivator behind nonprofit organizations, they still need to be run like normal businesses. Taxes, laws, human resources, and funding still play a role in the success or failure of nonprofits. Before you start your own nonprofit, take a look at the below list. These tips will help ensure that you stay on the right path during the creation of your world-changing organization.

Do Your Research

Nationwide there are more than 1.4 million different nonprofits. During your planning stage, you need to consider the competition that you’ll face once you’re up and running. There are some important questions you should ask yourself before you get too deep in the process. Check out this list to see some examples of the sort of questions you need to answer.

Start With A Business Plan

The first step for any successful business—whether it’s a nonprofit or not—is to write a business plan. A proper business plan will increase the chances that you secure funding from either private funders or a local bank. It demonstrates that you are serious about starting your organization, and it will help you attract your first volunteers. Not having a business plan is like not having a map to success. If you don’t have a plan no one will follow you.

Incorporate

There are many reasons why you should incorporate your nonprofit. One of the most important reasons is that you’ll be able to apply for grant money. Learn more about this reason and some other important ones by reading this article. While the paperwork associated with incorporating can be a headache, in the end, you’ll be happy you completed the process and gained tax-exempt status.

Write A Mission Statement

The vision or mission statement that you create will help you attract the right people. Board members, volunteers, employees, and donors will either embrace or ignore your organization based in part on the vision you share with the world. Your vision statement can be the first part of your business plan. It explains who you are, what you do, and why your organization matters.

Learn More

The National Council of Nonprofits has a number of resources that you will find useful when getting your nonprofit off the ground. Their resources include guides about best practices, financial management, and fundraising. Visit their Tools & Resources page for more information.

5 Ways That Small Businesses Help The Community

By Trevor Marca

On December 11, 2016

In Community Builder, Trevor Marca

Small businesses are one of the most important aspects of every community. Not only do small businesses “account for 99.7% of all business in the US,” they are also leaders in giving back to the community through charity (Schmid). In fact, a survey conducted last year found that “92 percent of U.S. small business owners… [surveyed] said they personally donate to charities and nonprofit organizations” (Hernandez). To learn more about how small businesses help the community, take a look below.

Local Identity

Small businesses give a community its unique identity. Art galleries, bookstores, cafes, yoga studios, and corner grocery stores add character to the communities that they call home. Many towns are proud of the number of local businesses that inhabit their community. In an effort to attract visitors, local tourism boards often advertise the number of local businesses as a sign of community health.

Community Involvement

The above statistic makes it clear that small business owners want to give back to the communities they live in. Many small businesses sponsor local sports teams or donate money to local charities around the holidays. Since small business owners usually live in the communities where they work, they care about their neighbors. In general, they don’t make decisions that will negatively affect other community members.

Build Relationships

Small businesses benefit from customer relationships. When you visit a local business, it’s very likely that you will meet the owner. Oftentimes, owners make an effort to get to know their customers, learn their names, and remember their preferences. Small businesses don’t have all of the advantages that big businesses have, so they care about providing great customer service and establishing lasting relationships with their customers.

Help the Environment

When numerous small businesses are located in one area, foot traffic is increased and people don’t have to rely on their automobiles as much. This contributes to better air quality. Today consumers are increasingly concerned about the health of the environment. They also care about walkability. Since small businesses tend to be located close to one another, this helps increase a community’s walkability and attract health-conscious residents.

Local Employment

Small businesses provide jobs to community members. When someone can get a job in the area where they live, they don’t have to commute to another city, and they may even be able to walk to work each day. Also, when community members shop at local businesses, they help put money in the pockets of their neighbors behind the counter.

Tag: local business

5 Ways Your Business Can Contribute to the Community

4 Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs

Tips For Starting A Nonprofit

5 Ways That Small Businesses Help The Community