When I designed the Small Business Operating System and the 3 journeys in your business, I wasn’t fully satisfied, because I knew that our businesses are not separate from our communities, but I couldn’t see how community fit with the journeys in business. On one of my many walks in Nature as I make my way across Canada, I decided to put some thought to this question and it hit me. The community doesn’t take a journey through your business, your business takes a journey through your community.
How could we take that paradigm and apply it to the concept of your business taking a journey through your community?
The three parts of the journeys are attraction, engagement and delight.
Many business owners are attracted to a slice of their community. We can’t do everything, we can’t fix everything so we have to decide what is important to us and work on that.
The next step is to engage with that slice. In other words, do something, not just talk. Engaging means more than simply pledging money to the cause, but going deeper.
Delight by spending time and resources to make a difference. Work with organisations, set up programs and let your staff spend time.
Make sure your business is actively working within to make changes that reflect your values. You can’t fund a recycling program, then not recycle everything in your business.
Paula is a consultant in the training space. She puts on events, including fundraisers for women’s causes she believes in. Everyone knows her as a woman who cares.
Ariel believes everyone should have access to healthy, regular food. She opened her cafe to do exactly that. All her food is locally sourced and healthily prepared. Her design and packaging reflect her environmental leanings. She brings in local entertainment to make the place more welcoming and relaxing.