How can you can make an impact on the world? Here are ideas from 12 small business leaders.

What is one easy way any small business leader can make an impact on the world? 

To help you find easy ways to make an impact on the world, we asked our community and other conscientious leaders this question for their best ideas. From donating supplies to setting good examples, there are several ideas that may help you begin to make a positive impact on the world wherever you are.

Here are 12 easy ways to make an impact:

●        Donate Supplies

●        Create a Mission-First Company

●        Recycle

●        Mentor or Tutor Someone

●        Indulge in One Act of Kindness Daily

●        Give Smiles

●        Shift Your Perspectives

●        Start With Your Community

●        Give Your Best Ideas Away

●        Be a Better Friend

●        Share Your Story

●        Set Good Examples

Donate Supplies

The easiest way anyone can make a major impact on the world is by donating supplies to a school or classroom. This is how you can help some of the most susceptible people in your community - the children. They are the hope for the future and making sure that they have the tools they require for success is a worthy effort. A few supplies can recompense that hopefulness and help them live up to their promise. In addition, you can get associated with contacting the local school board on principals in your school districts.

-Caroline Lee, CocoSign

Create a Mission-First Company

A mission-first business is a way for business owners to make a positive social impact. A mission-first business can still be a for-profit enterprise, but it is focused on a socially beneficial mission. The company emphasizes having a positive impact on society rather than just profits. The more a mission-driven company grows, the more significant the social impact it can have. Combining business success with social change can be beneficial to both. Customers frequently seek out mission-driven businesses based on the social impact they create. Business owners who want to make a significant social impact should consider starting a mission-first company.

-Axel Hernborg, Tripplo.com

Recycle

Recycling is incredibly easy to do. All it requires is separating your trash from your recycling and putting each into the right bin. This way, you will be helping to save non-renewable resources, which can help with the economy and also climate change. Do not underestimate the fact that every bit of recycling makes a difference in the world.

-Jared Hines, Acre Gold

Mentor or Tutor Someone

There are many ways to "make the world a better place" even if only by an inch. Obviously, the classics such as donation and volunteering come to mind, however, there are other ways of making someone's life easier too. Tutoring and mentoring are sometimes quite underrated but can yield spectacular results in the long term. While you might be just lifting up one or a few people your impact can be truly life-changing for those individuals. From the most tangible ones such as academic or standardized test tutoring to business mentoring and life coaching, sharing your knowledge and know-how with someone in need of help can go a long way in making a notable impact in the world.

Thus never forget those who thought of you and always look to pay it forward no matter what your circumstances might be.

-Peter Bryla, ResumeLab

Indulge in One Act of Kindness Daily

People often define an act of kindness as something difficult to accomplish. This is one reason they delay their good intentions, assuming that they may not be capable enough. However, many of us learn very late in life that an act of kindness does not always have to be a big one. Even small acts such as cheering up a homeless person with an impromptu chat and a coffee or visiting a pet shelter to spend time with the animals there can go a long way in spreading cheer. Remember that kindness is not just about giving to others. It is also about finding motivation and positivity for yourself to live a happier life.

-Azmaira Maker, Ph.D., Aspiring Families

Give Smiles

Show up every day as your true authentic self with a smile! A simple smile can change someone's entire day, or life for that matter. A smile and eye contact lets the other person know that you SEE them. For some living in a state of depression or isolation, this means the world. It's a very simple act but truly comes from your heart.  When you live in a space where you understand that you are in control of your own happiness then you can share that with others and start a ripple effect.

Smiles are contagious...let's start that kind of a pandemic!

-Leeanne Gardner, Unbridle It, LLC

Shift Your Perspectives

As a leader, make a positive impact on the world by having open perspectives. For example, ask yourself how you can help your clients or improve the lives of your customers. Ask yourself what you can do for your employees that will make their jobs easier, and in turn make yours a better business. Shifting your perspectives to see how your business is affecting others will do good in the world and help you find further success.

-Trey Ferro, Spot Pet Insurance

Start With Your Local Community

Anyone can make an impact in this world. When thinking about making an impact many times, you can look within your own neighborhood. I suggest thinking about your local community. Volunteering your time, donating, joining in on a community lead project, or starting a local project are ways you can make an impact in the world. If your local community has a surplus of funding and resources. I recommend sharing or providing resources and funding to under-resourced communities. This can look like fundraising and giving funds to communities, community groups, and organizations doing direct work within communities that need help. Sometimes we forget that by working to improve our local community, we cause a ripple effect that will improve our world for the better.

-Alicia White, Project Petals

Give Your Best Ideas Away

The easy way to make an impact on the world is to be the drop of water that creates the ripples. Have an idea? Share it. I started changing cleaning products to zero plastic, zero scent, natural ones and I share with others so they can try. I created a Certified Backyard Habitat and share plant cuttings and encourage others to plant natives. When volunteering I encourage others to join. Small and local can make a big difference when we bring others along. When you do something that makes a positive change, give the idea away so others can help make the idea grow bigger!

-Kim Allchurch Flick, Mighty Epiphyte Consulting LLC

Be a Better Friend

What does it mean to be a better friend? It means to stand up for your friends when the time comes, and not fight with them but take their side and make them feel like they are supported. It means giving that friend a hug when they are feeling down or just sitting with them in silence without saying anything. It means understanding what someone's needs are and meeting those needs without being asked.

-Alan Wilford, I Peep BXS

Share Your Story

The easiest way to impact the world is to share your story. Share what you do to reduce your carbon footprint. Share your ideas that could improve the quality or efficiency of a product or project. The key is having a conversation with others - bringing your ideas and theirs together to create something new and lasting will have a great impact. Little things like this still have a lasting ripple effect.

-Sarah Vito, Yellow Emperor

Set Good Examples

The best way to lead is by setting an example for others. Model the behavior that you believe will make a positive impact on the world, and be genuine and nonjudgmental. This is much more persuasive than trying to compel people to do the same. Judgmental people are seldom liked and therefore not persuasive. On the other hand, if you accept people regardless of where they are in their life journeys, they are more likely to be receptive to your ideas. People often want to model the behavior of people they like, because they feel that they will become more likable, too.

-Dennis Consorte, Snackable Solutions

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