Today’s post is from Leah Olson.
Small Business, Big Impact
How small actions from small businesses can change the world
In a world of tight competition, small margins, and whip-smart and attentive customers, focus on maximizing profit alone is no longer a viable strategy. According to a November 2019 article in Inc., “Business must be a force for good, rather than profit alone.”[1] Small businesses need to take a stand in order to stand out. In fact, small businesses can’t afford to not care about social and environmental responsibility. Apathy is costly in today’s highly competitive markets, and not “caring” is expensive in terms of customer acquisition, employee retention, and revenue in general. By adopting and demonstrating brand responsibility, you can improve your product, reputation, community, planet, and your bottom-line. Because what is good for your customers, your employees, your community, and your planet is also good for business. Doing this work is worth the effort.
Before we get started, I have a few words of caution: In the arena of brand responsibility, authenticity is everything. Don’t talk the talk without walking the walk. Your incredibly intelligent and discerning customers, team, and community will hold you accountable for your words, actions, and intentions.
Where to start:
Find your why and articulate your purpose
Start by taking a good long look at your business. Authenticity is everything, but authenticity is also just the beginning. Start by asking “why?” Why are you in the business of ____ ? What are you, personally, trying to accomplish? Once you’ve found your “why,” you can begin to define and articulate your purpose. According to a study by Kantar Consulting, “Brands with a high sense of purpose have experienced a brand-valuation increase of 175 percent over the past 12 years compared to the median growth rate of 86 percent.”[2]
“Determining your company’s purpose should involve employees, customers, suppliers, and members of the communities you serve.”[3] Answer these questions: Who do you serve? What do your customers need? What products or services do you provide? How well are you meeting that need? What makes you uniquely suited to meet that need? How can you become a more responsible brand? In terms of brand responsibility, what are you already doing well? Where is there room for improvement?
By asking these questions, you can identify some potential areas to integrate and align social and environmentally responsible initiatives and goals. Again, be sure that any direction you pursue is authentic and meaningful to your company, your community, and your brand.
Ask any small employer on the Oregon Coast “What’s the hardest part of operating a business here?”, and they’ll tell you “finding good help,” “employee retention,” or both. Brand responsibility may be the solution. According to the Harvard Business Review, “Many people—not just Millennials—want to work for organizations whose missions and business philosophies resonate with them intellectually and emotionally.”[4] It is hard to find and keep good help if your brand and purpose do not resonate. In Start with Why, Simon Sinek reminds us that “Great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them. […] Average companies give their people something to work on. In contrast, the most innovative organizations give their people something to work toward.”[5] Meaningful work can lead to great work and great work can lead to excellence—that is your competitive edge. One way to inspire customers to action and employees to greatness is by doing meaningful work.
Commit
Demonstrating brand responsibility is not just about supporting causes and donating money. It’s about committing to social and environmental good and adapting and outfitting your business and team to make a difference. Sometimes these changes are just small tweaks or realignments, but sometimes these changes require drastic deconstruction and/or reconstruction of complex systems. Either way, Amy Webb, Founder of The Future Today Institute, would encourage you to “Think exponentially. Act incrementally.” Here are two approaches to getting started:
Pick a problem area that needs improvement and start small. This could mean assessing inventory and suppliers and switching to more local, environmentally friendly, and/or sustainable options.
Pick something doable (that aligns with your why and your purpose) and do it. This could mean shifting to compostable to-go containers, swapping out all of your lightbulbs for energy-efficient LEDs, or placing a Black Lives Matter sign in your storefront window.
Need inspiration? Look to a business you admire. Remember: there is no correct place to start. The important thing is that you start and then keep going.
Partner up!
I’ve heard it said that “a rising tide floats all boats.” Here, at the mouth of the mighty Columbia River, that is a particularly apt sentiment. We are all stronger together. So, reach out, band together, and find or create communities committed to social and environmental good. Local businesses, suppliers, alliances, coalitions, and even your competitors are a great place to start. Band together, make changes, speak up, and redefine the playing field together.
4. Track Your Progress
You can’t measure success without first defining it. “Build a baseline” and measure against it.[7] Select three to four measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and make a simple quarterly, bi-annual, or annual report card to help keep you on track. Review the matrix, assess your progress, give yourself a grade (or better yet: ask your employees and customers to give you a grade!), and, most importantly, take time to reflect and course-correct.
Small businesses may be small, but they are mighty. And when small businesses band together their small, steady, and incremental actions compound. And that, my friend, is how we change the world.
[1] Mestrich, K., Pinsky, M. A., Blakely, L., & Saporito, B. (2019). The Rise and Rise of Business as a Force for Good. Inc, 41(7), 70–78.
[2] Dupont, S. (2020, April). Green Days: Building a Purpose-Driven Brand. PRSA. https://www.prsa.org/article/building-a-purpose-driven-brand.
[3] Determine Your Company’s Purpose With Your Constituents. Harvard Business Review. (2020, November 9). https://hbr.org/tip/2020/11/determine-your-companys-purpose-with-your-constituents.
[4] Blount, S., & Leinwand, P. (2019, November). Why Are We Here? Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/11/why-are-we-here.
[5] Sinek, S. (2013). Start with why: how great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Portfolio/Penguin.
[7] Fort George Brewery + Public House Sustainability Report. Fort George Brewery. (2019, April 5). https://fortgeorgebrewery.com/about/sustainability/.