Making a Difference: 5 Ways Business Owners Drive Social Impact
As business owners, we have the opportunity to make a difference in a number of ways. We serve our clients and help solve their problems. We make a difference in the lives of our teams, providing fulfilling work, steady paychecks, and opportunities to grow. We collaborate and contract with each other, helping our businesses to grow together.
There’s more we can do, though!
On Saturday, October 24, people all across the country will pitch in to celebrate National Make a Difference Day. It might seem like there’s a “national day” for almost everything, but this one matters.
One of the most important things we can do as business owners is to give back. This might happen in different ways for each of us, but it is something we can – and should – do. If you happen to miss your chance on the 24th, you can join in any time!
Take a moment to think about different ways you and your team can make a difference:
- Volunteer in your community
- Partner with an organization you would like to support
- Make a financial donation to a nonprofit
- Challenge your team to put their skills to work serving others – you can even create a challenge for it!
- Support business owners in underserved areas through a program like Kiva
This year, volunteering may be a challenge, but there are so many options to choose from.
At Upleveling Your Business, we have chosen to support several business owners through Kiva, a crowd-sourcing platform that brings people together to lend money to business owners. Some of these businesses are located in second- and third-world countries. Loans of a few hundred or a few thousand dollars equip them to build thriving businesses that support their families, and allow them to give back to their own communities.
Other businesses that Kiva loans support are located in underserved areas of the United States, and these loans allow them to not only build their lives, but to impact their own communities.
One of the things I love about supporting Kiva is that you can loan as little as $25 – and when the loan is repaid, you can turn around and loan it to someone else! This allows you to keep “paying it forward” and helping other business owners.
This year, each person on the Upleveling Your Business team had the opportunity to choose business owners to support through Kiva. There are incredible people all over the world to choose from! Here are some of the people our team chose to help:
- The owner of a new Turkish restaurant starting up in Pittsburgh, as the restaurant industry has been hit hard by COVID
- A farmer in Kenya who needed a loan to buy seeds and fertilizer in order to increase her harvest
- A mother of 5 in the Philippines who raises livestock to provide for her family
- A mother in the Philippines working to put her children through college
- A mother in Ecuador who is growing her business to support her family
And the list goes on. We have had so much fun giving to others!
This is one way we have chosen to make a difference. I challenge you to join us!
As you think about ways you can make a difference, think about the people you want to serve. Are there ways you can make a difference in your community? In your industry? Through an organization you trust?
Improving the lives of others is a worthy cause for any business owner, and a great way to build unity in your team. We would love to hear how you choose to make a difference – let us know in the comments below or in our Facebook group!
Kristen David, a former trial lawyer and partner who went from working 85 hours a week and taking home way too little money in her law firm, built it up to a million-dollar-plus business, then sold her shares and pivoted into a business coach guru. She is now an international speaker, bestselling author, and operates a successful business, empowering business owners to build thriving, profitable businesses that are self-managed with systems. She helps busy business owners build those systems by implementing policies and procedures the Fast Track Way.