Entrepreneur’s Journal: How your business can change the world
Posted by: in Small BusinessFiled under: Cisco Systems (CSCO), Dell (DELL), Intel (INTC), United Parcel’B’ (UPS), salesforce.com inc (CRM), Small business
Since launching Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) in the late 1990s, Marc Benioff has built a multi-billion dollar operation, which is still growing at a break-neck pace. Interestingly enough, Benioff thinks that a large key to success has been his company’s philanthropic efforts - that has helped with employee morale, community involvement and even customer loyalty.
To this end, Benioff used the 1-1-1 model. When Salesforce.com was founded, 1% of the stock went into a foundation. After that, 1% of the profits were put into the foundation and employees have spent 1% of their time on philanthropic activities.
Last year, Benioff wrote a book on the topic, called The Business of Changing the World
So what can your business do?
“When we started our company,” stated Kristen Marie Schuerlein, who is the founder of Affirmagy, “we asked ourselves ‘what qualities do we want more of in our lives?’ And then we imagined wrapping ourselves, and those we love in those very qualities. Our entire R&D program was based on a donation of our Abundance blankets to group of ministers at a convention in San Diego. This was how we discovered how much our products resonated with people. We still get calls from that donation, asking how to purchase our blankets.”
Yet, she warns that such efforts take lots of time. What’s more, you need to find a cause where your product, audience and charity are aligned. “People will not support a company that seems to be jumping on a bandwagon,” said Schuerlein. “And people deserve to know why giving to a certain non-profit or certain cause is meaningful to the company no matter how big or small.”
Partner Up
Brenda Novak has been writing books since 1993, such as romantic suspense novels. It’s turned out to be a full-time business for her.
She also runs an online auction for diabetes research. On the first auction three years ago, there were more than 70,000 hits and 9,542 very special visitors.
Her advice:
1. “Look for something one-of-a-kind you have to offer and join forces with others who are in a similar or sideline business. What makes Brenda Novak’s On-line Auction for Diabetes Research so successful is the fact that I bring major publishing professionals and fellow authors (many of whom are very famous) together to offer items and opportunities that can’t be found anywhere else.”
2. “Make sure there’s a pay-off in it for everyone. Those who donate get significant publicity value for participating, which helps them build their business. Those who shop get one-of-a-kind, unique items and opportunities. The charity gets the research dollars. Even in philanthropy, people act according to self-interest much more often than public virtue, so don’t fight that. You’ll only get discouraged. Instead, use it to your advantage. Give everyone a reason to support your efforts and they’ll.”
Tom Taulli operates SmallBizMix.com.
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