Having a Purpose for Your Business

by Justin Larson

I recently attended a seminar called “Thrive.” The whole theme of the conference was making your money matter and having a purpose for your business. I met a lot of great people at this event. (The second picture is with me and Tai Lopez, which is part of my inspiration to start my marketing business). This conference changed the way I am going to do business and made me want to involve having a purpose for my business.

If you’re an author whose goal is to sell books, you have a business! And if you’re wondering, “How can I have purpose for my business?” you can accomplish this by involving your business in donating to nonprofits, choosing to donate 1%, 10%, or even as much as 40% of your profits to a charity/nonprofit that matters to you and which you are passionate about. Another way you can have purpose in your business to make your company’s money matter is by hiring people who need a second chance, like disabled folks, veterans, people who have to be in jail, or homeless people.

You could also create a passion product for your business. For example, Toms® Shoes did have a purpose in their business – for every pair of shoes a customer bought, they would donate a second pair of shoes to someone in need in another country. Toms® Shoes donated so many shoes that they disrupted the economies in some of those countries.

You, too, can do that for your business and make an impact. If you’re not selling shoes, then perhaps you could create/donate a T-shirt, socks, or undergarments for the less fortunate.

If you’re not in the products business and only offer services – like a chiropractor or a mechanic – then you might donate a portion of your profits to a cause that matters to you, whether it’s to help end hunger, create more like art in schools, or facilitate a community garden. Give to the cause that is most meaningful to you.

You can even build the donations into the cost of your service if your profit margin is thin. People don’t mind paying a little extra for something if it’s helping someone else.

Creating a way for your business to impact other lives and having a cause that makes your money matter gives people more reason to support your business. This is especially true if they believe in the same cause you believe in. That’s an example of how your business can go viral! Imagine your business supports a nonprofit that helps kids who have diabetes. People to whom that cause matters will support your business more and likely tell friends and family about it.

That’s one of the factors that allowed Toms® Shoes and many other companies to go viral – they had a cause for their business and made their money matter. If you want to make your money matter, you can start by implementing one of these three steps:

• Donating a product
• Donating a portion of your profits
• Hire the less fortunate

Pick something you believe in, not what you think your readers/customers believe in. Your readers/customers will support. That’s a part of why people do business with you – because they relate to you.

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Justin Larson is a social media marketing professional. As a child, he was raised by many entrepreneurs. His grandparents on his dad’s side owned a woodworking business that is now owned by his aunt and uncle. His grandpa on his mom’s side owned a construction company and his maternal grandma owned a hair salon. He helped his parents in their woodworking machinery and lumber business, doing computer work and posting products online. He even helped create their first business website. It wasn’t perfect, but he knew from that moment on this was what he wanted to spend his life doing. Now he works with authors and small business owners who want to grow their businesses. Although social media is free to use, it can help explode business growth if used properly. Visit GreenForestMarketing.com to learn more.