The other day I was talking to a small time entrepreneur, he is a painting contractor, and he has been moderately successful, at least he stays busy all year round. That’s pretty good considering the state of the economy, and most of the reason he’s busy is because he does great work and gets lots of referrals. His wife owns a small boutique in town, which is on a busy corner in a high-end shopping district. She has done very well helping the community, and he wants to do more.
He is considering joining a service club such as; the Rotary, Kiwanis, Optimists, or Lions Club in town. “That’s a very good idea,” I told him, but I warned him that it was also a significant time commitment, and there were other things he could do. He could sponsor a nonprofit group or event, or perhaps allow his facilities to be used by a nonprofit group or become a resource. So I wrote down these three items;
1. Allotting Facilities
2. Semi-Sponsorship
3. Become a Resource
Just because he runs a service company, as he is a painter, and he doesn’t run a retail store, doesn’t mean he can become a good resource for nonprofit groups. He might volunteer to help a group of gentlemen repaint a local church. Perhaps he can offer his services, and become the leader of the group while the painting is being done, and offer those services and the painting over a weekend for only the cost of his supplies.
If he were to do that, he would all of a sudden have every member of that church knowing that his company helped out, which would provide him new business, and go a long way to helping the community, while also getting credit for his good deeds. Who knows maybe even God will be watching if he helps paint church? There are so many things small business people can do, regardless of the type of business they run.
Maybe you need to do a little brainstorming, think about what types of resources your company can provide at a very low or nominal cost. Perhaps you can donate your time, supplies, and everything else towards a good cause. You can take the deductions as business expenses, and it’s a lot cheaper than expensive marketing or advertising in the newspaper, radio, or on cable TV for instance. If you haven’t done any of this, you need to start. It’s easy to get involved in small business fundraising for a local community group. Please think on it.