My new business philosophy: In business as in life, don’t give to get. Give to give.
For me, this idea started with a church sermon about giving to give as it related to our personal journeys. But then I got to thinking: what if businesses and entrepreneurs just gave freely?
What if I just gave freely?
What would that look like?
It did not take me long to see several entrepreneurs and small companiesemploying this business philosophy by giving away knowledge, wisdom, and expertise.
For free.
With no thought of what they might “get back” for it.
They were mentoring and teaching.
They were sharing information and sharing knowledge.
Frankly, sometimes they were coaching their competition.
They were giving to give.
And because of that, I found myself as Ms. Customer wanting to do whatever I could to support that business. They did not give to get, but because they gave purely, they reap authentically.
What if we all poured into each other in this way? The motive must be true: give for giving’s sake, not to reap some back-end reward.
Give to give.
Who’s with me? Have you seen this in your own business? Feel free to share examples of giving businesses in the comments!
I did this just last night! My business partners tell me I am always giving everything away for free! The information I know is too valuable NOT to share with those who need it. My greatest joy comes from helping kids realize their dream, not from making money selling my books or giving presentations.
It’s definitely a balancing act between making a dollar today or giving it away. But once you have established an authentic, committed relationship with a customer that shows that you are not there just for a buck, that customer will be back to buy. At least that’s my theory! (And the theory of others as well!)
Hi Rebecca,
Giving is always way more fun but most of us were not taught how to “receive”. I have always believed in give what you can and it will always come back to you. But sometimes when it does “come back” (and in many different, sometimes unexpected” forms) I am not sure how to react. I think this is true for many.
One of the many reasons I started a second company was to have the advantage of mentoring other people. Ones who wanted to start a business, but were either to scared or didn’t know the first steps. It combines the best of all worlds for me.
I love that I see you totally doing this in every arena. In fact, you’ve been “giving” me a lot as you share your wealth of information. Thank you, both for sharing, as well as for being such a great source of inspiration!