Photo by Nancy Center Photography
Ask yourself, how can my business make a positive difference in the world today? Then choose a couple of ways that you can provide value to and support others.
Post a funny meme. Give someone a reason to smile.
Share another business’s product with a caption that describes what you love about it. Give shoutouts without expecting anything in return. Be a rising tide that lifts others.
Take time to give credit where credit is due. Give credit to each person on your team for the impact of their individual roles. Give credit to the person who took that photo for your business. Good leaders don’t need credit, but a good leader will always give credit to others.
Tell another business owner about a new podcast episode or a digital tool that you found to be really helpful. Don’t keep your best secrets to yourself.
Send out an email blast with an encouragement that’s applicable to your audience.
Connect with someone, one on one. (Preferably someone who you don’t know.) This is easy to do on Instagram. Just make time to connect with someone. Connect with a genuine interest in their life and their goals. Don’t do it for a sale — refuse to do this with any motive outside of the goal of connection.
Take the opportunity to speak at a local school to share what you’ve learned from building your business. Show kids what’s possible when you’re willing to work hard and think outside of the box.
Keep your word.
Buy coffee or donuts or kombucha for your team members, whichever will be most appreciated. If you’re operating your business as a team of one, post a pre-paid Starbucks card on your Insta-stories for its first takers to get a free drink of their choice.
Thank your email subscribers for being on your email list. It’s a privilege, not an entitlement, that they have given you permission to have access to their inbox. Thank them.
Be honest about what you can and can’t do. Don’t “lead on” your prospects or team members — no one likes to wake up one day with the realization that they’ve been operating under false pretense. No one has time to follow an elusive carrot. No one wants to feel used. Do your best not to waste people’s time. I’m constantly working on communicating better in my own business.
Go LIVE on Facebook and share a lifestyle tip that could make your audience’s lives better.
Promote a local or small nonprofit organization. Ask them how you can partner with them to help them raise funds and spread the word about what they do.
Give honest, thoughtful feedback to a fellow business owner.
Support someone’s surgery or funeral fundraiser on Go-Fund-Me.
Leave a genuine response on each set of stories that you watch today on Instagram. Don’t be a silent observer on social media today — engage and encourage.
Be known for your generosity and your gratitude for the support of others. When someone does something nice for your business — like hosting an open house or telling ALL their friends about you or taking photos for free, ALWAYS make sure you give them credit and even repay their kindness! They didn’t support your business to get a favor from you, but it’s just stingy business behavior not to thank them, give them a shoutout, and do something thoughtful for them in return.
Encourage someone to start their business.
Do one thing to make your product or services better.
You get it. You know that building a great business involves building great relationships. You always seek to give more value than what you ask for.
You’ve already asked yourself why you do what you do, and you know. You are here to make a positive difference in the world with your business. With a core motivation to nurture others, you’ve got what it takes to make a positive difference for someone else. You have learned that when you’re only interested in getting financial wins for your business, you don’t find true fulfillment in your work. You probably know this because you burnt out doing that — a couple of times. You got resentful. You gave up. You hurt someone. And you realized that there’s got to be a better way. You’re right. Now you’re ready to build a legacy that impacts the world for the better. You know what you want to be known for.
You finally understand that “winning” is found inside of you, never outside of you. Winning is found through internal happiness and helping others to practice the same intentional contentment. Winning is not about getting a personal achievement, but to make a positive difference.
I’m glad you’re here. The world needs you. Go make the world a better place, one kind act at a time. Psssst, I have a feeling that you’re right on the verge of getting your next win.
Leave a comment below with an idea of how you or others can make a positive difference with their business. Let’s inspire each other!
