One More Bit of Advice for National Small Business Week: Giving Is Good For Business

Small businesses had a chance to get a heap of advice about how to help their business grow at the National Small Business Week Conference As National Small Business Week is coming to an end, (and you can see some great pictures of Obama and others) it is worthwhile to offer more small business advice in the area of business philanthropy.

Today I stumbled upon a blog post in Fast Company from Jan.7 2010. Is Philanthropy the New Marketing?
Here is the first paragraph from the post:

Has large corporate America figured out what small business has known for a long time?  That giving back to the community is not only the right thing to do, but also a great way to get your name/product/promotion out there for free?

Well I didn't exactly agree.I think that small businesses may feel that advice about philanthropy does not apply to them, it's meant for the big guys.

Small businesses need to realize that they may have a greater impact on community philanthropy as they are often closer and more connected to their local communities and community needs than the bigger companies. And that connection may in return help their businesses grow.

Several of my former posts have addressed this topic and so, in honor of National Small Business Week, here is my summary from them: Why Giving Is Good For Business:

• Giving back to the community can help the economic growth of your community which in turns helps community members prosper and come back to you as customers.  
• You can use your advertising dollars more effectively by enhancing your marketing and publicity. By getting involved in a local cause, you build relationships as your community gets to know you .You can use your marketing dollars towards advertising both your business and the cause that you support. In return they will create more publicity for you. 
• Speaking of relationships,what better way to network to other businesses or to customers than by working together on a philanthropic project? 
• Create a happier work environment by building rapport amongst your employees when they work together on a cause.

For more on why giving is good for you business check out the following posts:

Should Your Business Have a Philanthropy Program?

Five Reasons Why Doing Good Helps Your Business

Why Giving is Good For Business and Patriotic

In reality all sized businesses alike can learn from each other about the benefits of giving back to the community. In the end I hope they will be sharing ideas and strategies with each other towards creating social benefit for the world and their communities.