If you caught our last blog, you’ll no doubt recall that October is Small Business Month,
a time to celebrate all those hardworking entrepreneurs who are willing to take big risks, often for small rewards – at least at first!
Balancing the special feeling of working for oneself against the equal but perhaps not so special feeling of knowing all responsibility for your success rests with you is challenging.
At thE Concierge, we know all about balance, it’s what we do best –
provide balance for people leading busy lives.
What we also like to do at thE Concierge is celebrate the successes
of our fellow small business entrepreneurs:
It’s very often the small business owner in town who sponsors your child’s hockey or soccer team or
a small business owner who provides dance lessons to your rambunctious toddler or teenage tap dancer.
It’s the local florist who lovingly creates a remembrance bouquet when you’ve lost a loved one
and the small café around the corner where you grab your daily cup of java and perhaps even some breakfast to go – keeping you fuelled during your busy days.
check out thE Concierge instagram page for highlights on local small businesses that rock!
At thE Concierge, we think it’s entirely safe to say that many a town wouldn’t be what they are today if our local shop and business owners were taken away.
We’ve come a long way in terms of celebrating small business owners too. Most towns and cities have an active Chamber of Commerce, a Small Business Enterprise Centre, Work Hubs where small business owners can gather to share provide resources or lived experiences at running a business or include networking organizations such as Dufferin Women in Business, all methods of supporting networking and nurturing one another in business and that are so vitally important to both individual success and the success of our communities.
Communities surrounding those thE Concierge serves, including: Orangeville, Caledon, Shelburne, Brampton, Grand Valley, Alton and others, are each actively promoting
“Shop Local,” and “Love Local” programs right now, in order to help encourage the patronage of small businesses in town.
These kinds of supports are invaluable to small business owners who are often sole proprietorships, meaning it’s one person doing everything from restocking supplies to packaging and shipping.
If you are a service-based business, it can be even more challenging as you do work tasks during the day (product installs, baking, service calls) and your paperwork at night.
Having a network that supports your success, shares business knowledge and expertise or perhaps even trades for services, can be an invaluable coping mechanism.
What can you do to support your fellow entrepreneurs?
Once you’ve established a solid relationship that relies on the “know, like and trust factor,” do your fellow small business owners a favour and act as a referral source! We all know word of mouth can be as good, sometimes better, than a newspaper ad or a website. People trust other people so give out recommendations! Hopefully you’re doing the kind of job where these referrals will be reciprocated on your behalf.
Share your expertise! Many SBEC Centres, towns and communities are often looking for Guest Speakers to come and share their knowledge with others. If you are a tax expert, consider giving a free seminar as tax season approaches. A massage therapist might offer a 10% discount to fellow entrepreneurs in their community and the local café can provide treats for a community event in exchange for the marketing platform the event provides.
Promote your own success while promoting others too. Consider shared advertising space in the local paper or a mail out flyer featuring several businesses and detailing some of the many benefits of shopping local.
Partnerships promote shared success. Consider partnering with another like-minded business for your mutual benefit. For some small entrepreneurs this might look like sharing stall space at an outdoor market to maximize exposure while minimizing costs. For others, this could be an Interior Designer partnering with a local Home Décor store to promote both services – home styling and where to find the products needed to transform your space!
If you can think it – you can make it happen - and there is no limit to your imagination! After all, you imagined your business into existence, now imagine the possibilities of supporting yours, and your fellow entrepreneurs success too! There are a myriad of things you can do to share your support for your fellow entrepreneurs and there’s no better time than now during Small Business Month.
It’s October and we’re celebrating YOU.
If you need help with implementing efficiencies in your business,
or you’d like some help at home so you can spend more time
building on your success at work,
Consider thE Concierge!
We help restore balance to busy lives!
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