Chances are, if you’re in business, you expect to – you need to! – make a profit. But profit comes in many different forms, and most are as valuable as money, if not more so. Life has taught me that the following, if practiced sincerely, will enlarge your customer base, and will increase your followers and supporters naturally … not only because people are drawn to the positive, but because they, too, profit from these ideas.
We profit in many ways when we become part of our communities. It’s one thing to say we’re “local”; quite another to BE local. Think about where you shop, dine, volunteer, serve … even where you live. Do your dollars, for the most part, stay in your community? We naturally hope customers purchase, use and benefit from our products or services. Reciprocally, how does what we offer … and how do we … benefit our community? Do you commute? Or do you live where your customers live, pay taxes, vote, have a vested interest in local government, the arts, and historic preservation?
If so, you’re also more likely to take an interest in your community’s schools and nonprofits. Those entities are always looking for donations, and not just of money, although that’s important. It costs nothing to volunteer. Join that service club, serve on a local board, sign up for that clean-up day. Eat at your local diner. Shop at that local small business. Attend events at local venues and write good reviews when warranted. Being a part of a community involves being in it physically and being invested emotionally – not just on weekdays or when it’s something from which we expect to profit (though that’s OFTEN the result!).
We also profit from lifting up others. Use your voice to promote, encourage, and champion those around you. Share the successes of others on your social media pages, send a quick email. Better yet, send a personal note. In “The Case for Handwritten Letters”, a recent NY Times article, the author cites research showing writing by hand lights up multiple parts of our brains – areas associated with creativity, memory, and our senses – in a way that emailing does not. Add a personal note to that fundraising plea, take the time to pen a handwritten thank you. And by all means, DO send those thank you’s! Think your writing is unreadable? In her book, I Want to Thank You, Gina Hamadey writes, “No one is expecting calligraphy. It’s a treat just to get something tactile.” And, she adds, it increases our connection in a world that feels increasingly disconnected, in spite of the constant bombardment of social media.
Appreciation isn’t just for our customers and donors. Let your employees know you value them – don’t take them for granted, and don’t take all the credit for your success. We’ve all worked for people who simply soak up all the praise, while others are quick to deflect it and point out the value of their entire team. Think about the last time you gave someone a sincere compliment. Chances are their whole being lit up. They likely carried that forward to others AND to their work habits! An employee who feels valued is a more productive employee compared to one who’s constantly critiqued … or perhaps one who hears nothing at all. And that brings me to a side note. Trust your employees. Give guidance when warranted; but an employee with a cache of awards, great reviews, and/or a history of dedication and reliability doesn’t need to be told how to do his or her job. Treat your team AS a team, a competent one where everyone is valued. When people feel ownership in a company, their increased productivity will add to your bottom line.
Finally, we also profit by using our voices to share the good going on in our businesses and in our communities. Of course, we need to promote ourselves, and there are many ways these days of doing that. But a friend of mine goes out of her way to visit a shopkeeper in Searsport who also always promotes others in her downtown – even her competitors! We can’t give away the farm … but we can and should give away, or at least share, the fame.
A former student once sent me a letter that ended with this quote from A Prayer for Owen Meany – “Find the good and praise it.” The late Natalie Knox had this down pat. Nat was always quick, as busy as she was, to fire off a brief compliment. “Loved that story!”, “So much local news today!”, or “That story on ____ was so interesting! I had no idea!” We knew she was the owner, but she treated us as friends who had an equal stake – if not monetarily, in the success, at least – of the radio station. Those notes and that attitude motivated all of us, because she made us feel as if we weren’t just workers; we were the company.
Bottom line … if you want your bottom line to be even more profitable, be sure you’re caring for your employees and business contacts, championing your fellow business leaders, and genuinely connecting with, promoting, and supporting your local community.
References:
Hamadey, Gina; I Want to Thank You, TarcherPerigee Publishing, 04/13/21.
Irving, John; A Prayer for Owen Meany, William Morrow Publisher, 03/89.
Passarella, Elizabeth; “The Case for Handwritten Letters”, NY Times 04/02/26.
Taurisano, Paolo, Ed.; “The Neuroscience Behind Writing: Handwriting vs. Typing – Who Wins the Battle?” 02/22/25
Sonnie Shepherd is the News Director for Nice and Easy Internet Radio, niceandeasyradio.com. Her weekday newscasts are “brought to you by” a different nonprofit each day, at no charge. You can also find her news daily on her website, downeastdigest.news, and on Downeast Directory. Between award-winning radio and television careers, Sonnie taught sixth grade in Ohio for 23 years. She feels beyond fortunate to be a part of the Downeast Community, where she gets to work with so many amazing people and shop, dine, donate, volunteer,connect with, serve and promote area businesses and nonprofits, as well as cover local, national and world news on an uncensored platform. While her work these days is strictly volunteer, she profits every day from those of you who support her newscasts and on social media.