How Small Businesses Benefit Communities (and why Small Business Collaboration is Great)

Image credit: Key Foster

Bill McKibben, environmentalist, broadcaster and environmental justice advocate, and Mike Brady, social entrepreneur, recently discussed how small businesses could help each other while revitalizing local communities.

The discussion occurred during a panel after the screening of the documentary Fixing the Future, by David Brancaccio. The documentary is about finding innovative strategies to create sustainable businesses and stable local economies. The following small-business-collaboration ideas were discussed during the panel and reported in the article “5 Steps For Small Businesses to Revitalize Local Economies,” by Alice Groesbeck, film and video production student at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, and visual communications intern for Ashoka USA.

Small businesses should discuss social responsibility (even with the competition)

Businesses in a similar, local marketplace should see each other as possible collaborators. “Partnering with other businesses offers you an opportunity to learn new ways to foster a sense of social responsibility within your community,” said Groesbeck.

Organizations, such as The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, can help connect local businesses with each other and can help businesses create sustainable economies, said Groesbeck.

Businesses should develop accountability with customers

“According to a 2010 University of Toronto study published in Psychological Science, people aren’t just buying products based on how much they cost,” Groesbeck said. “Customers also consider how the things they buy reflect their personal beliefs and impact their environment. Since communities have been devastated by the economic downturn, Americans are now shifting away from being isolated consumers and coming together as contributors.”

Businesses should try to build accountability by building natural and respectful business interactions between people in the community.

Local businesses should have a global impact

When local businesses work toward having a global impact, the business can reap rich resources that can, ultimately, help the community.

Small victories are still victories

Work in increments and celebrate the small things. Trying to tackle everything at once can leave you tired and unable to help the community – or your business.