It’s true that the businesses’ main objective is to generate profit. That’s the only way for growth and expansion to happen. But that should not be the sole purpose of any entrepreneurial effort. An entrepreneur could find another source of fulfillment from ensuring that the business they do contributes to community building, in one way or another.
And that’s not a difficult feat to accomplish. In fact, even systems essential to your daily operations could already open opportunities for adopting socially-conscious methods. Here are some recommendations.
Adhere to ethical employment practices
Sure, you employ members of the community. And you take pride in how you follow the exact legal guidelines when hiring workers. However, that’s the bare minimum you can achieve. And legal does not always equate to ethical.
Here ethical means knowing that your employees work in a safe environment. Or that your employees’ needs are provided for via competitive remuneration packages. Yes, helping the community is as easy as going out of your way to lift your employees financially.
Provide quality products and services
Ideally, you go into business because you want to change people’s lives. That’s a tall order, yes. But keep in mind that the best business people aim high. And you’re doing your community a big favor if you put up a business that’s dedicated to excellence from the get-go.
To protect remarkable and not mediocre ideas, work with a reputable business lawyer. A good one will help you navigate the tricky process of getting a patent, trademark, and copyright.
Subscribe to proper waste management
This not only a social responsibility. This is a legal responsibility, too. Failure to adhere to waste management standards directed by your local authorities will get you in trouble with the law. The result will be, at best, fines.
But that’s not what should motivate you to dispose of your waste the right way. Your waste management will have an impact on the community. You should not risk the safety of the people who are, in the first place, the lifeline of your business.
Strengthen social responsibility efforts
Here the first step is to assemble a social responsibility team from your pool of employees. Surely, you have staff members who feel passionately about social consciousness, and they won’t think twice about volunteering.
Once you have a team assembled, start plotting strategies through which you can give back to the community. For example, if you are in the restaurant business, you can schedule regular feeding efforts.
Do not shy away from direct actions like donating to charitable causes. You have a wealth of causes to choose from.
Regularly consult with the community
Ideally, you routinely consult with community leaders. Every time you will introduce a new product or service that can potentially impact the community, it’s in your best interest to let the right people in on your plans.
Zero in on sustainability
All businesses will have a carbon footprint. Even households do. Those are just facts of life. That does not mean you cannot put in place systems that will at least reduce your carbon footprint. Something as simple as consistent checkup and maintenance of your HVAC system will have favorable effects on your sustainability efforts. A faulty HVAC system does not use energy efficiently. And that’s just one approach among many.
Knowing your business not only thrives but succeeds is all well and good. But you must also keep in mind that your business does not exist in a vacuum. As an entrepreneur, you are a vital stakeholder in a community. You possess a certain level of power and influence enough to put into effect positive and meaningful changes for the good of society. That is an opportunity worth grabbing.
The next time you and your team go on a meeting to plot goals for the future, do not neglect your social responsibility. Meet the subject head-on, come up with strategies to boost your community involvement, and be an example to other businesses. Surely, you will be rewarded for your efforts. If not in terms of profit, at least by way of creating a legacy that everyone will remember for generations to come.
