Do you run a socially responsible business?

Running a socially responsible business means consciously managing the social impact of your business - how it relates to you, your clients and your community.

It is easier for you to see the impact of your solo business than it is for bigger businesses, who are often isolated from the real world by layers of bureaucracy or glass towers.

Here are some areas to consider to ensure you have a socially responsible business:

Getting your own house in order

Are you socially responsible in the way you practice business? When did you last seriously consider the ethics of how you conduct business? Are you doing things in your business that you would not otherwise do as an individual?

How does your business affect your life and wellbeing? Is your business good for your health? A socially responsible business that fills your life with meaning and fulfilment will have a positive roll-on effect on your friends and family.

Keeping good company

How well do you know your suppliers and associates? What values are you supporting when you do business with them?

Contrary to what some people will have you believe, there is no one way to do business. Just as you are a unique individual who chooses who you are and what sort of life you want to live, you can choose how you practice business. This also means choosing who you work with.

I consciously choose my associates and my clients.

Participating in your community

Participation is the key to a deeper level of connecting with your community beyond monetary donations. Participation is the giving of your skills, time and attention to a community cause.

There are few things in life more rewarding than rolling up your sleeves and pitching in to build something larger and grander. This is a great way to hone existing skills and develop new ones. Community projects usually have severe constraints and thus provide great opportunities to flex your innovation muscle.

Every year, I commit a percentage of my productive hours to pro-bono work. I treat every pro-bono client as a paying client – with firm deliverables, outcomes and deadlines.

Check out Good Company for worthy community causes you can contribute to.

Giving, not “giving back”

I dislike the phrase “giving back” because it implies that something has been “taken away” to begin with.

Giving is an amazingly life-affirming and transformative act for all involved. It is the practice of living with a sense of abundance.

But in our society, there is a focus on what we don’t have, which makes giving harder to do. The more we focus on what we don’t have, the more we regress into a selfish, distrusting, everyone-for-themselves society. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live in a society like that.

Swapping 10 hours of your time for $1,000 worth of media exposure is bartering. Bartering is not giving.

When was the last time you gave simply for the sake of giving? Start doing it more often.

An inevitably integrated practice

Business is a social activity. As such, social responsibility needs to be an integrated consideration. You need to choose to run a socially responsible business. Over at my blog, I spend a lot of time thinking about how I practice business.

Do you run a socially responsible business or is it an area you need to work harder on? Let us know.

Zern Liew is a thinking designer who uses his creative problem solving skills to help clients build beautiful businesses.

8 comments | Add your own 1 2 | Next» View all»

Oh, Zern, I love giving! Giving time, giving advice, giving life experience - giving money isn't always the only thing needed. I have found, in a small business, it sometimes isn't financially viable to give money - but it is to give time and effort and advice. Well, it is less obviously expensive. We are continually donating bits and pieces to a pre-school and when you see what 4 year old kids can do with recycled tissue paper, you begin to appreciate the small things that make a big difference. -Jess, www.zulugraphics.com.au Jess from Zulu Graphics, Best Screen Printer in Newcastle
Great philosophy Zern, but I've found that a cynical eye is needed - too many potential clients expect small suppliers to underwrite their equity i.e. try to exploit suppliers' natural generosity and social consciences. Much better to keep the business and the social welfare separate, I've found. Grant Hyman from Sydney | Read my articles
Hi Zern, I hear what you are saying, and I think I am almost aligned with your beliefs. I have a small exception, I think if you are a business, and you are offering your ‘professional’ time at a discounted rate, or for free your should leverage off it. In February, I handed over a treasurer role that I had done for 3 years. What someone does in treasury, if it is done well, is basically not seen. After 3 years, and probably 150 hours of my time, a publication went out from the top boss, thanking everyone, except for me. No thanks, No recognition, Nothing. As I was going along I did not need thanks, I did it for the greater good, but afterwards I felt burnt. I now believe in visible volunteering, and get it agreed upfront, if some form of discount is offered, my business needs some form of recognition (e.g. in a newsletter). I have a mortgage to pay off, and cannot afford to give up that time for nothing. Does this make me a bad person? Heather Smith from BRISBANE | Read my articles
@Jess: I like the sound of your giving – sounds like you get lots out of it. Also love your blog Jess. What a great wealth of info on screen printing! I am going to use it as an example in an upcoming seminar I am doing on Blogging and SMEs. http://eicolab.com.au/2008/05/18/seminar-business-blogging/ Zern Liew from Sydney | Read my articles
@Grant Hyman: Good point about separating benefits for paying clients, and social welfare. I treat my paying clients and social welfare clients the same in the course of working with them. My paying clients get good value, but I don’t set up an expectation of freebies. And I am wary of clients who expect freebies as a matter of course. My social welfare clients don’t pay for my work, but their projects are subject to change and scope control too. Boundaries and expectations – the cornerstones of good relationships. :) Zern Liew from Sydney | Read my articles
@Heather Smith: I hear what you are saying. Wanting to feel appreciated does not at all make you a bad person ;) There is nothing wrong with wanting to exchange your volunteer time for official recognition. Both parties need to clearly state their respective expectations out of the transaction. When expectations are not met, we usually get disappointment. I have done this sort of value exchanges myself. And I have also simply given my time, purely for the internal satisfaction of having done so. But this does not make me somehow “better”. I did it cos I could and wanted to. Zern Liew from Sydney | Read my articles

8 comments | Add your own 1 2 | Next» View all»

Add Your comments

Preview comment

Name

Website *

Town / city and country

Email (never sold, displayed or given away)

* This will link your name to your site. So please avoid self promotion elsewhere! We delete spam, disrespectful or off-topic comments.