Do you want to make sure your local business is successful? Consider a few ways you can serve your community while running a company.
Donate a Percentage of Proceeds
An excellent way you can serve your community is to donate a set percentage of each order to a local charity. For example, maybe you’re passionate about helping women, so you donate 10% of every sale to a local women’s shelter.
You can promote this donation promise to your community and get a tax break. Some people love to support businesses that donate to organizations. Of course, if you publicize the fact that you donate, you need to make sure you donate what you promise. That way, you won’t get caught lying and ruin your reputation with the community.
Partner With Organizations
Different restaurants will partner with schools or non-profit organizations for special events. For example, you can run an event during the dinner rush. If a customer mentions the school or organization in question, you can set aside a certain percentage of that customer’s order to donate.
This is a great way to support local groups without having to commit to one organization. Organizations such as the USANA Foundation work with other non-profit organizations. It’s also useful if you can’t afford to donate a portion of every sale. Plus, you and the organization can promote the event ahead of time to help bring in business.
Buy One Give One Programs
If you can afford it, you may want to start a buy one give one program. Whenever you sell a specific item, you will donate another unit of that item to a charity or someone in need. A well-known example of this is Toms, which donates a pair of shoes every time someone buys a pair.
You may not want to do this type of program if you sell a lot of different things. But if you have a specialty store and sell a few things, it may work well. You can keep the donations local to make sure they go to people in your area.
Donate Old Inventory
Most businesses will probably have old inventory at some point. Grocery stores and restaurants may buy too much food and not sell it all before it goes bad. Clothing stores may order too much of a style or size but need to get rid of it to make room for items for the next season.
A lot of businesses will let these items go to waste. You can work with an organization to help feed people in your community and around the world. Or you can take the old inventory directly to a food pantry or homeless shelter. That way, people in need can get food and clothing.
Offer Special Discounts
Another fantastic way to serve your community is to offer discounts to certain groups. Maybe your business is in a college town, so you get a lot of students as customers. Or perhaps your business is near a military base, so you have a lot of military members and veterans come in.
In those cases, consider offering student or military discounts. That way, you can attract more business from those types of customers. You don’t have to do anything massive, but a 10 or 15% price cut can help show those people you care, and you can still make money.
Host or Sponsor an Event
If you’re struggling to connect with your community, you may need to get out of your shop. Consider hosting a community event, and make it free and open to the public. You can also sponsor an event, which can help get your name out there.
On the day of the event, you can set up a booth with some of your products for people to try. You can also collaborate with other businesses or organizations. That way, attendees will have plenty of businesses to visit, and you can connect with more people in your town.
It can be easy to get caught up in making a huge profit in your business. But keep these ideas in mind to give back to the community that helped you earn that money.
