Small businesses can help build stronger local communities

America’s small businesses are an economic growth engine, employing 46% of the U.S. workforce and generating 43.5% of the country’s GDP. In addition to creating jobs, these businesses play a significant role in the communities they serve.

Ties to the local community also can deepen feelings of purpose in employees. According to the Cigna Group, purpose-driven businesses have 40% higher retention rates. Gallup recently reported that 68% of employees who have a low sense of purpose at work are actively seeking a new job.

With Americans willing to spend more to support local businesses, it feels important to give back.

Do more outside your walls

In a study by the National Federation of Independent Business, 71% of small business owners surveyed said community involvement is important to the success of their business. Besides helping them reach new customers, the research revealed other, more personal motives for community involvement:

• 95% of small business respondents said community involvement is important to their personal satisfaction and fulfillment, while 68% said it’s also important to the wellbeing and morale of their employees.
• 82% of entrepreneurs said they contribute to their communities because it’s important to create a better local business climate.
• 92% said it’s important to make their communities better places to live.

One way to connect with your community is to participate in events that promote independent businesses. Those can range from celebrations organized by local business groups or municipalities to national events like Small Business Saturday.

Foster community connections year-round

Community connections can be built at any time and in a variety of ways. You can:

Volunteer your time. Making time for volunteering isn’t just for big businesses. It can instill feelings of pride, togetherness and help combat loneliness both within your company and the community. To get started, look for groups, charities, youth programs or schools that offer a natural connection to your business’ products or services, or that chime with your skills. For example, some small business owners volunteer to talk with high school students about entrepreneurship, helping to inspire future generations of business founders.

Take on interns and diversify your talent pool. As well as helping to fill a pipeline of talent, training and supporting local young people or those wanting to get back into the workforce after a period away can help strengthen local economies.

Offer financial support. Many small business owners support organizations in their communities by attending fundraisers for nonprofits, sponsoring sports teams or donating to a worthy cause.

Make in-kind contributions. Providing meeting spaces at your business for local networking events, donating excess inventory or offering auction items can be good ways to help your community while promoting your products or services. Clothing and sports gear stores can help local teams, for example, while restaurants can donate food for community events.

Create a civic organization. As you research community organizations, you might discover a need that hasn’t been addressed. Think about starting a civic organization to fill the gap. More than a quarter of small business owners reported that they have created, or helped to create, a civic organization in the last 10 years.

Foster B2B collaboration. Collaborating to support your fellow small businesses helps your whole community. By working with other entrepreneurs, community businesses can come together to rent or share assets, equipment and services to reduce costs and increase efficiency, making the entire business district stronger.

Get involved with your local chamber of commerce. One of the best ways to build trust and personal connections is to join a chamber of commerce. Tom Sullivan, senior vice president of small business policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, recently told Business.com that, “From an economic perspective, consumers are 49% more likely to think favorably about a business that belongs to its local chamber of commerce and 80% more likely to patronize [those businesses for] goods or services.”

Building better businesses

Getting involved with local communities can be a smart move.

In addition to giving teams more of a sense of purpose and providing opportunities for employees to develop new skills, these relationships can support the wellbeing of the local community, which is often where smaller businesses find their customers.

• Being more involved with local communities can:
• Increase brand awareness and perception.
• Boost your reputation and appeal to new job applicants.
• Give employees a sense of purpose and pride.
• Help skill up your workforce.
• Increase trust and loyalty.
• Help your customer base grow.
• Create dialogue and feedback opportunities so you can learn more about what people want.

When setting goals for the new year, it’s worth considering your local impact alongside your growth strategy. They can both play a key role in your long-term success.

If you want to learn more about how Worldpay can support local and growing businesses, talk to us today. We’d love to hear from you.