If you’ve been in business for any amount of time, or even starting to think about opening a business you’ve probably felt the importance of community. Humans are social creatures wired to seek out community so it’s only natural that it’s pretty important to us in all aspects of life.
One of my absolute favorite things about social media as a small business is the community. Connecting with other small businesses (and the people behind them!) is so important. From finding people walking a similar path to you to collaborate and commiserate with to just feeling like you have a place in the world to simply belong.
I started writing this post weeks before the government shutdown but it feels even more timely now that we’re here. Living here in the DMV we all know we’re going to feel the impacts of a shutdown no matter what, and we’ve already been feeling the impacts of everything that’s going on from tariffs to general economic uncertainty.
Times like these are where community becomes key. Small businesses who are able to support each other and their communities are the ones who can weather times like these. But what does that look like? It looks like building opportunities to come together into your business model, even when times aren’t as hard. Looking for opportunities to facilitate people coming together whether it’s opening your business for a regular gathering time, participating in community events as a business, or facilitating ways to give back to your community.
A yarn shop might offer a weekly stitch night where people can hang out at the shop to work on projects. There’s no pressure to buy anything and it’s not a class setting. Just a time for people to get together and do something they enjoy.
A clothing boutique might offer to act as a drop off point for the local food drive, maybe they even offer some kind of incentive for their customers to bring donations.
Any brick and mortar location with the space might offer low or no cost events that partner with other local small businesses who maybe don’t have a physical space to teach a class that brings people together. Floral arranging, a macrame night, a clothing or book swap, a chocolate tasting, etc.
A pet boutique might organize a trick or treating event for dogs where all the shops on their block participate to hand out dog treats and snap cute photos of dogs in costume.
I know what you’re thinking. “Christina, these things take time and money!” And sure, that’s true. There’s other things you can do to help grow your community that are pretty low time & cost investment or they’re using money you already needed to spend. Things like sharing the events of your fellow businesses and hyping them up to your audience. When a new local coffee roaster opens up down the street from you, posting about their grand opening celebration & sharing a quick snap of your drink and how much you loved it in your shop’s stories is a great easy way to share. Give a quick shout out to that coffee shop in your weekly email newsletter to encourage your customers to stop by.
Looking for ways to partner with local businesses in mutually beneficial ways for events you’re already hosting is another great one. Why not ask if the restaurant across the way would want to have a pop up snack bar with treats for sale at your next big event? What about partnering with the local craft or sewing shop to help you with your next window display? Then film an unveiling video where you can share about how you worked together to create something awesome.
Those are things you can and should do when they make sense for your business anytime. Now let’s talk shutdown.
Especially here in the DMV we know that the effects of the shutdown can be pretty immediate. People who expected to go to work today aren’t going. They don’t know if they’ll be getting paid or even if they’ll have their job once the dust settles. So what makes sense here? There’s the obvious, offering special deals for furloughed workers. Every bar in the DMV is announcing drink specials today, that’s for sure. If that makes sense for your business to offer, go for it.
Then there’s the less obvious. Could your business offer a free class for people who’ve been furloughed that relates to your business? A free learn to knit class to help relieve a bit of shutdown stress. A clothing swap & sip night specifically for government workers hosted in your boutique. A free presentation with local organizations helping furloughed workers to know their rights and options as they navigate this situation.
There’s tons of ways to grow your community and give back to it. We need our communities now more than ever, and fostering them in person and online is more important now than ever.
