Support: Businesses and individuals have learned to be consistently creative while navigating an ever-changing economic landscape.
Here is a phenomenally powerful post from, Daymond John on how people are getting creative in supporting #smallbusiness in an impactful, yet cost-free way.
Do you or anyone you know need a little support right now?It’s this simple.
Each week I’ve been highlighting a Small Business for #SmallBusinessHero to show how they have pivoted during this time to keep their business afloat and continue to provide value for their customers in new ways.
And as I’ve done this, I’ve seen a lot of you ask how you can support some of these small businesses from afar. I saw this post from The Sustainable Fashion Forum and had to share.
There are so many ways to support small businesses, even some that cost you nothing, but can mean everything to them.
If you’re a small business owner, shout out below what you do and how people can support YOU from afar right now.
Appreciation: Crunching the numbers, staying ahead of industry trends, and tracking your company’s progress can quickly and easily eat up all of your time and attention if you let it.
But it’s important to remember what really makes your business a success: the team you’ve chosen to help you drive it. The importance of inspiring your team cannot be understated. In the modern workforce, a paycheck is simply not enough anymore.
Working individuals want to feel valued, appreciated, and that their employers respect their need for a healthy work-life balance. Employees who feel underappreciated and uninspired are more likely to seek employment elsewhere, take unnecessary time off of work, and be far less productive than employees who feel content and recognized.
A recent study by career giant Monster revealed that 54 percent of surveyed employees felt underappreciated and 41 percent of them said that they felt demotivated because of this. Interestingly enough, the same study revealed that 75 percent of employers surveyed admitted that they believe that “a failure to express gratitude has a negative impact on employee motivation.” This tells us that we recognize that there’s a problem, but we’re not sure how to fix it.
Here are a few simple yet powerful, actionable tips for inspiring your team:
In the midst of daily office life, it’s easy for individuals to forget that they’re part of a bigger purpose. One way that we can combat complacency and disengagement in the workplace is to consistently show our employees the recognition that they deserve. It’s easy to make inspiring speeches and give thanks around the holidays, but we need to do more.
It doesn’t have to be a complicated process, a simple … “you are awesome and I appreciate you” can go a long way.
The more recognition we offer, the more everyone will understand and appreciate that we’re all on the same team, following a vision, and accomplishing tasks as a cohesive group. Recognition of a job well done helps to break up the monotony and make employees feel more like they’re part of a team than a solitary unit. Help build your brand and set the tone for a productive and pleasant work environment by offering acknowledgment on a job well done whenever you have the opportunity.
Adaptability: You know what I really love? 💕
I really love it when people in industries that are incredibly set in their ways, difficult to negotiate, and massively powerful figure workarounds using technology and social relationship building to bypass “the way we’ve always done it” and “your ideas are not valid because they represent something that could jeopardize my position.”
Because, beyond the hype lies the massive value in making positive change, solving problems, and providing opportunities.
Your team is there to support you and help you grow. Take a step back from the daily and take a look at the company as a whole and how you are going to achieve your goals.
Be the leader they need, to inspire and direct them.
At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that the base of every business is human connection; offering recognition, sharing information, and investing in each individual’s professional development can help to create a workplace that employees enjoy rather than dread. Show them that you’re interested in their professional development and growth by offering training sessions, seeking out helpful webinars, participating in team-building activities, and keeping them involved in the conversation.
Ask your employees what they care about and what drives them, you may be surprised by their answers. Many individuals want to continue learning and growing in their industry rather than becoming stagnant. In this case, both parties win; your employees will be happier and more motivated, which will help drive your business in a positive direction.
And that, my friends, makes my ❤️ very happy.
The Moving Forward Newsletter is a bi-weekly advice column by Kim Peterson Stone, the CEO of Linkability.us where we give you a peek behind the curtains into what it takes to put together campaigns that help you grow your business and career on LinkedIn and in Real Life.
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