I jotted down a note on a piece of scrap paper that hangs around my desk. I come across it from time to time. It reads:
“If you went out of business, would people notice?”
I can’t remember what prompted me to write it down, but every time I see it I think “Ooh, that’s good.”
I want the answer to this question to be “Yes!”
Yes, without a doubt.
If I go out of business I want people to notice.
As I complete my 15th year in business and look ahead towards 2017 with a wedding calendar that’s booked more quickly than ever before, well, I’m feeling lucky…and grateful…and like I’ve worked really hard to get here.
As a solo-business owner, or floralpreneur as I like to say, I struggled for years to find a mission, a purpose, a meaningful impact that I could make in the world.
I started my business with a mission statement, as all good companies do, and then I refined that mission over the years, but it always felt hollow or somehow fell flat. It wasn’t as purposeful as Ben & Jerry’s mission statement or other cool companies who use their profitability to make a positive difference.
I wanted to “do more”, but with a business as small as mine any donations or attempts to “make giving part of my growth strategy” (one of my favorite, inspired quotes from Danielle LaPorte) seemed insignificant….a drop in the ocean. And in truth, my customers didn’t even seem to care.
I always had core values, but I wasn’t communicating them to my clients.
I can tell you without a doubt the better I became at communicating my values to my clients, the more my ideal clients started responding.
Click to read my Core Values here.
I’m going to walk you through exactly what I did to determine these values and attract more of my ideal clients in my course, The Art of Good Business, Find details here!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Growing a business is a journey. It’s not a sprint, not a straight line, and every year is a learning year.
Communicating your Core Values can be an integral part of attracting ideal clients and building a reputable brand.
Join the #VowToGive Challenge!
If you want to make a bigger impact with your small business, join me in #VowToGive.
Here’s how I define my giving: For every wedding I book I donate 165 meals to the Vermont Foodbank. I commit $55 from every wedding sale to the foodbank and in 2015 I provided 4,800 meals through the Vermont Foodbank.
#VowToGive is easy to do and it feels good, too.
Perhaps you already have a charity or social mission for your business, but if not, now is the perfect time to start!
It’s easy. Just follow 3 steps:
- First, choose a local charity or global charity that moves you and fits the core values of your business.
- Second, define a dollar amount per wedding or amount of time you volunteer or sponsorship you’ll support.
- Third, follow through! Send the check, show up, volunteer, sponsor and tell your customers about it.
You can pick a dollar amount per wedding, per month, or per year to donate to your charity of choice. It’s tax deductible and it’s good for business.
1, 2, 3…choose, define and follow through.
Take a minute and ask to join my Facebook group here! It’s a great way for us to connect and it’s my new favorite way to talk with floralpreneurs!
As always…
Keep
doing
beautiful
work.
With love from me to you,
