You don’t build your life exactly like you build your business, but you build your business exactly like you build your life. 

–Lynne M. Thomas, JD

Some of my earliest memories are of my mother walking our neighborhood ringing doorbells for the March of Dimes.  You see, she had two children with “birth defects” and had decided to do something to help other children and parents.

That spirit of giving…and working to give…made my mother a successful home business owner.

Why is Giving Important to Success?

Developing a habit and pattern of giving wires your mind to focus on the best interests and needs of others.  It becomes automatic for you to seek the needs of others before your own.

Some people are naturally more giving.  Their “love language” is giving gifts.

But let’s be honest.  Most people either aren’t wired that way naturally or aren’t great about making giving happen.

For a home business owner working with all kinds of people, what you do duplicates for good or for ill.  So if you foster an environment of giving, those you sponsor will duplicate that behavior.

People drawn to you will be more likely to be teachable, too, because they are other-focused.  That makes your job as a leader so much easier.

And frankly, if you want the money to come your way, you can’t be afraid to give even–and especially–if you think that you have nothing to spare.  That may sound counter intuitive, but it is a timeless truth.

So What are the Ways to Give?

Don’t think as you start to read this list below that you’ve seen it all before at church.  This is taking a basic reality of how our lives are structured and shining a light on how to see it with the eyes of an entrepreneur.

Number 1

Share the Hours Allotted to You

Each of us has at least 12 hours a day available to us.  I’ve subtracted generously for sleep, grooming, moderate exercise, and eating.

Each week, at last some of the time you have available to you should be given to someone else with NO expectation of remuneration or a return favor.

For example:

• Call a friend who you know is having a hard time…and just listen.
• Go by the home of your elderly relative, neighbor, or friend to say hello, ESPECIALLY if you find them difficult to be around.
• Anticipate if your wife/parent/sibling/child needs an errand run or an item checked of THEIR busy list…and do it without being asked.
• Be something of a neighborhood watch.  After all, few people work from home like you do.  If you see trash in front of your neighbor’s house or a strange person you don’t recognize wandering around their yard, take the time to pick up the trash or text your neighbor to make sure everything’s OK.
• Send a handwritten note or card to someone who is ill or had a personal loss…even if you don’t know the person well.
• If someone looks lost or in need of assistance, stop and ask if you can help…even if you think you are way too busy.

Number 2

Share Yourself

This is actually different than sharing the hours allotted to you.

You have a background in SOMETHING.  Whether you are a butcher, baker, candlestick maker, doctor or lawyer.  You have expertise in areas that other people need.  More often than not, they can’t pay for what they need.

For example, if you are a plumber, you can decide that you are going to donate some time every month to taking care of the plumbing problems of those unable to afford plumbers.  You can talk to your pastor and let him know in confidence that you want to make yourself available in this manner.  He will know who needs you–who really needs you.

And frankly, you can always make the decision on any job to walk away without accepting payment.  If you separate yourself from the drive to get money in your hand, you’ll follow the inspiration to refuse a payment.  If you hadn’t refused the payment, perhaps you’d have taken the widow’s last mite.

And you’ll be shocked that money will flow your way because you aren’t trying to grab it!

You don’t have to be a plumber to have a service, skill, or expertise to give in this manner.

Can you cook?  If you can, there are lots of new moms who’d appreciate a meal during their first few weeks with the baby.

The possibilities for how you can share the things that you are good at is limited only by your imagination…and generosity.

But beware…don’t plan on sharing your expertise only with people who might be good fits for your business.  That is not giving.  That is positioning.

We make a living by what we get.  We make a life by what we give.  –Cynthia Brian

Number 3

Share Your Material Goods

This may actually be the hardest one yet.  For a business builder in the early days of a business, things may be lean.  Things might even be downright hard.

That’s all the more reason that you have to give away some of what you have.

And then once you’ve “made it” and have a consistent, lifestyle sustaining income, you have to give even MORE.  Yes, even more.  Because it is very easy to become more and more self-focused when things are going really well and you don’t have to worry about money.

I recommend that in the early stages of your business building you make a concerted effort to do the following:

• If you have closets full of stuff, take a Saturday night to dig out some and donate it to your favorite charity.  Then don’t stop there.  Look for ways to slim down the stuff and pass it to someone who literally needs your stuff.
• If someone asks you for money on the street, give it to them.  This is often controversial, but I’ve found that it is better to let God worry about what they do with it or if they really needed it.
• Turn to the person in line behind you at the grocery store who only has a few items and tell them that you are paying for their groceries.  Then don’t take no for an answer.
• Send a card of encouragement and a cash to a friend who you know is really struggling financially.  I like to do these things anonymously if I can.

If you put your mind to it, you can come up with lots of ways that you can give material goods.

Every time you do, your goal should not be the favor or respect of the person to whom the material goods are passed; rather, your focus should be on trusting that there will be lots more to replace what you give up.

That is the nature of a REAL business builder.  Business builders know that their futures are secure.  They know that their children’s futures are secure.  It might not be true today, but giving creates the right environment for you to achieve what you already believe.

So I encourage you to get out there and give.  And watch your business grow.

Let me know if this blog post helped you and what questions you have.

And don’t forget to go light your lamp.  God bless.

Lynne