When I am asked what the top benefits of being an entrepreneur are, sometimes people are surprised by my answer. Service.
The sense of service I feel carries through everything I do. From writing to speaking to mentoring those I work with and meet, my strong sense of duty goes beyond the obvious marketing aspects of traditional corporate philanthropy. When we at home base see an opportunity to lift our community, we are all in! It doesn’t always have to be a grand international gesture. We know tending to our own backyard and growing our local community is one of the best places to start. We’ve gotten involved with local PBA fundraisers, Child Services and as of last week, we really took one for the team – ice cream at 10am!
When our brand ambassador, Diana, mentioned there was an opportunity to support a local kindergarten teacher with advanced breast cancer, the team instantly agreed to show their support – and yes, this was before realizing it involved ice cream for breakfast. The team (figures I was away for this, and no, no one brought me some!) headed over to 7 Scoops, a community focused business who donated 100% of their proceeds to the teacher. It was one small act of service that collectively, made a big impact in this teacher’s life.
Service. It comes in many forms – big, small, international and local. Volunteerism and philanthropy are immensely beneficial to all involved. Your soul and your community flourish. Do you find one of the benefits of being an entrepreneur is growing your community? Pick something to give your time or money to and watch your service flourish. You may even inspire others to do the same.
This is so needed Mike, thank you for sharing your thoughts and how it does not have to be big, grand gestures. In fact, local community support is so much more personal and you can see and meet the people being helped.
And, as a recruiter who focuses on the right fit, may I recommend that if you do volunteer, donate, or support a cause, that you share this in your employment brand marketing and job posts. Your potential candidates want to work for like-minded companies and teams, and so by publishing your efforts, you will attract those people who will further believe in and participate in your community involvement.
I am an artisan. Although I will probably never be able to provide many jobs, my goal is to find someone local before looking anywhere else. I also volunteer as the person who does eye screenings at the schools throughout the county. This is sponsered by my Lions Club. What will take the school nurse a week to a month to complete, I can do in a day or two. I enjoy helping out the nurses who already have piles of work to do and after 4 years, I recognize many of the kids by face, if not by name.