By Debbie Gregory.

Acts of kindness are therapeutic and will make you feel good and empower you.   Your acts of kindness will also inspire others to be kind.   We are learning that what we do impacts others and we are all in this together.  Kindness has an amazing domino effect that is so positive and will impact our small business.   VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association h is providing a list of kind acts for small businesses to consider.

Some wonderful Acts of Kindness:

• Donating to Food Banks- donate some of the extra non-perishable foods in your pantry. If you are able make a monetary donation to fund meals.
• Donating meals to essential workers.
• Donating meals to students especially with schools being closed, it has been impacting many needy families that receive meals at schools for their children.
• Deliver meals – organizations that are preparing meals need help to deliver them to needy families.
• Donating Face Masks to hospitals and organizations
• Write notes and cards to elderly and shut ins to brighten their days.
• Donating Care, Food and Goodie Packages: Put together these packages for those in need in your community, elderly shut-ins, first responders, essential workers and military and veterans.
• Buy a bushel of apples, cases of water or drinks, boxes of packaged snacks, candies, gum, etc. and take them to your local fire or police station.
• Books and magazines are meant to be passed on and shared. Go through read magazines and books and donate them to homes for elderly with shut-ins to help them pass the time.
• Make handmade items that come from the heart. These can be knitted handmade items, greeting cards, paracord bracelets and special notes.
• Purchasing needed items such as sanitizer and cleaning items. These might be nice to send to your remote workers and those in need.
• Gift cards for those who are having hard times to markets and stores.
• Providing Free Advice to Impacted Businesses: Many small businesses are affected and hurting from the pandemic.  They need help and often do not know where to find it.  Volunteer to provide advice in areas of your expertise.   You may find that those with expertise you need will help you.   You might join forces with others and form a task force of sorts to offer free advice and consulting.
• Hosting Virtual Classes: Perhaps the expertise you possess is needed and can can best be presented and utilized in a virtual class.
• Create COVID Survival Guides for Small Businesses and to share and play forward what you have learned so others can benefit with Real time, actionable. advice and present it in zoom sessions.
• Teaching and/or tutoring others. With so many children and young people having to learn virtually, someone to help is a blessing.  Many parents are doing triple duty, parenting, teaching, and working so this can be a huge relief.
• Small Businesses “lending” staff to other small businesses providing a win/win for all.
• Patronizing local restaurants – ordering meals to go to help them stay in business.
• Tipping generously at restaurants or to the barista who prepares your latte to go.
• When you go to market or store, ask neighbors what you can get for them, especially your elderly neighbors and friends.
• Organize zooms or Facetime to spend time with those friends, family and neighbors who feel isolated and are able to simply click on a link.

These are such challenging times for all of us including small business owners.  Helping others can come back to you and is a wonderful way to feel like you are making a difference and to be positive.  We all need to work together for everyone.

By James Pruitt, Senior Staff Writer

• Learn the Practice of Mindfulness:

Mindfulness is a state of awareness. Through mindfulness, we focus on the task at hand. Regardless of  how simple the task, practitioners absorb themselves into every detail. Whether cleaning, preparing food, listening to music, or simply being, a mindful person lets go and concentrates on the moment

Running a small business may keep an owner in a constant state of distraction. Small business owners are inevitably busy multitaskers. However, in our routine we may carve out moments to melt into our surroundings and concentrate on the now. Hence, our down-time can become our time to relax and de-stress, rather than ruminate on what we cannot control.

• Meditate:

Related to mindfulness is meditation. Time and place are the main distinctions. Business owners can set aside time each day for simple meditation. Mindfulness can be practiced anywhere.

Meditation can involve a methodology unique to the practitioner. Some write their feelings and thoughts on paper before the session. Afterward, many practitioners feel secure and tranquil to concentrate on emptying their thoughts. After the act of writing, the task of mentally working through burdensome responsibilities has already been done.    We strongly recommend checking out The David Lynch Foundation Meditation programs for Veterans.   There are also other excellent programs.

• Practice Gratitude:

Always stay mindful of the positives in life. Whether great people, a fulfilling career path, or whatever blessings may grace you, the practice of gratitude adorns every setback with a silver lining. Gratitude helps maintain perspective, reminding the practitioner that better times loom ahead. Also, recognizing the positive is known to reduce stress and anxiety.

Many people keep gratitude journals and write down a certain number of things they are thankful for every night. Others write down their blessings and post them in a place where they will see them each day. We should refresh our sense of gratitude regularly. Gratitude gives us hope and perspective for the challenges facing us.

• Use your Support System:

The pandemic has disrupted everyone’s personal interactions. Fortunately, nothing can take away our strongest supports.

Networking with peers helps many business owners. Other small business owners and associates may provide a source of meaningful interaction. Shared experiences can provide bonding.  Furthermore, peer groups can provide opportunities to exchange information. The resulting sense of meaning can help anyone who must plow through adversity.

Also, never forget friends and family. Despite the isolation of the pandemic, this generation has online resources to help remain connected. Finally, always practice gratitude for those who support you every day.

• Relinquish Control when Necessary:

Stress tends to burden the most responsible people. Often, we feel that only we can do everything right, and achieve perfection according to our standards. Unfortunately, no one can attain perfection. Circumstances can foil the most well-laid plans, and we cannot always do a thing about it.   The Pandemic has certainly made this clear and that so much is out of our control.

Stay aware of priorities. Successful business owners recognize what they can and must control. Sometimes, the winds of change shift, and carry some of your goals with them. Proprietors should have the flexibility to adapt when necessary.

• Delegate:

The need for control can overwhelm the most well-adjusted business proprietor. There is one good strategy to reduce the pressure of responsibility: delegate.

Business owners can exercise self-awareness by recognizing those tasks they may not enjoy or do well. Making a list may provide insight into those processes we can best assign to someone else. Consider who on your team may have a different skill base. Also consider routes for contracting out the most dread-inducing tasks. Thusly are built the most efficient organizations.

• Remember You are Not Alone:

Innumerable strategies may alleviate stress during these difficult times. The pandemic is nothing if not unifying. We must all bear some of the same burdens for slogging through these difficult times. While in the end each of us bears different types of burdens, in the end self-care and kindness to ourselves will help us survive.

VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association hopes that this article has been helpful.   We work hard to bring you important, positive, helpful and timely information and are the “go to” online venue for Veteran and Military Business Owners.  VAMBOA is a non-profit trade association.   We do not charge members any dues or fees and members can also use our seal on their collateral and website.   If you are not yet a member, you can register here:  https://vamboa.org/member-registration/

We also invite you to check us out on social media too.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/vamboa

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/VAMBOA

By James Pruitt, Senior Staff Writer

The pandemic’s disruption on the economy has been epic and continues. There are many businesses that are able not only to survive but can also thrive in such conditions. Others, not so much. Huge swaths of the economy are struggling. Unfortunately, downsizing is an unavoidable necessity for many small business owners.

Depending on the circumstances and nature of the recession, some businesses seem nearly recession-proof. Examples include essential services including the repair industry, online services, food and beverages, information technology, and health care. Such businesses tend to stand up to economic trauma.

Other companies, not so much.  In this current recession, restaurants, entertainment venues, and luxury goods tend to wash out when consumers tighten their belts. As such, widespread downsizing is inevitable. Fortunately, there are right and wrong ways to downsize.

Below are some mistakes to avoid when rightsizing your business:

• Eliminating Entire Business Functions Unnecessarily:

Before eliminating an entire division or business function, consider the feasibility of across-the-board cuts. That function may well come in handy further down the line. Your business during tough times should become leaner and meaner, while remaining versatile. Use caution before eliminating an entire department or function. Even when the time comes to tighten your belt, a business should stay prepared for whatever challenge awaits and be prepared for the future.

• Failing to use Empathy with Staffing Changes:

When the time comes for layoffs, empathy and kindness counts a great deal. When laying off employees, do so with compassion, and consideration for overall circumstances. The same goes for schedule and salary changes. Downsizing mistakes can affect the employer’s relationship with his or her remaining workers. Any staffing agencies the business uses may also hesitate to work with such a business. Finally, wide repercussions can follow a reputation as a cruel employer.  Makes sure you are following all applicable laws as well.

• Misreading Economic Circumstances:

An economic downturn is a good time for positive thinking. Employers in a recession need to get down to business. Plan for the worst-case scenario.  Protect your bottom line, and ensure core operations are safe even as opportunities may drive up.

• Inventory Hoarding:

Inventory can be painful to lose, especially at less than its full value. However, inventory is also expensive to store and maintain.  Business owners should liquidate when necessary and makes good business sense. Cash on-hand serves the company better than depreciating stock in the warehouse that is taking up space and perhaps expiring.

• Practice What You Preach:

Hardship is a two-way street in an economic downturn. Employers should demonstrate their own willingness to sacrifice. Concrete lifestyle changes show a spirit of togetherness against adverse circumstances. A recession is the wrong time for fancy vacations and glamorous purchases. You and your employees are in the same boat. Show it. You need to work together in order to come out in a positive way.

• How to Adapt to Rough Times:

Staying realistic can be a challenge when a business’s course takes a painful turn, especially with the current challenges from the pandemic. Sometimes, the best course is to sacrifice, and grin and bear it. An owner should keep the faith while rolling up his or her sleeves. The economy is cyclical, and circumstances will change. A recession is a time to weather the storm. Owners should understand that good proprietorship entails sucking up the bad with the good. Remember that even if the business fails, things will get better.

Even during these challenging times, it is important to stay positive and focused both personally and professionally.   VAMBOA wishes you great success.

We hope that this article has been helpful.   We work hard to bring you important, helpful and timely information and are the “go to” online venue for Veteran and Military Business Owners.  VAMBOA, the Veteran and Military Business Owners Association is a non-profit trade association.   We do not charge members any dues or fees and members can also use our seal on their collateral and website.   If you are not yet a member, you can register here:  https://vamboa.org/member-registration/

We also invite you to check us out on social media too.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/vamboa

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/VAMBOA

By Debbie Gregory.

I think that we just need to move on to 2021 and leave 2020 in the rear window to fade away. This has been a challenging year for everyone, especially for Small Veteran and Military Business Owners.

We commend you for staying the course during these unprecedented times.   We have all had to adapt personally as well as professionally in how we operate our business.  Many of us are working harder and having to do more with less.  We are also doing things differently including working remotely and virtually creating and/or attending online events/conferences and training.  Many businesses have had to shut down physical operations and expand their online offerings.

VAMBOA, your Veterans and Military Business Owners Association works hard to bring you informative and timely information that will help your business.  We try to provide at least two or three new articles weekly on our Blog.  We hope you are not only enjoying the articles but are also gaining value from them.

We also try to provide you tips on the new skills needed to move your business forward as well as various loan programs that will provide you financial assistance.  Next year, we will be featuring and telling the stories of some of our members.  If you are interested in telling your story, please email me at:  info@vamboa.org.

I want to personally extend our sincere gratitude and thank our members, sponsors and those who have supported us during the year (you know who you are).   We appreciate you so very much.

This holiday season is unlike any other, to cap off a year unlike any one in our history Throughout this season, and as we move into a new (and hopefully better) year, we wish you moments of peace amid the difficulties, connections with family and friends even if they cannot be in person, the warmth of memories from holidays past, and wonderful glimpses of the joy that still lives under the surface.

Our holiday wish for each of you is health, happiness, and prosperity.   Hope is on the horizon with several viable vaccines and treatments for COVID 19.  Without health, none of us can prosper so please keep yourselves, your loved ones, and employees safe.

Acts of Kindness are important and rewarding to both the recipient and the giver.   You may enjoy this article on “Kindness Changes Everything.”

https://vamboa.org/?s=Kindness

Sincerely,

Debbie Gregory

CEO & Founder, VAMBOA (Veterans and Military Business Owners Association)

The “Go To” Association for Veteran and Military Business Owners

With over 8,000 Registered Members and almost a quarter of a million fans and followers

Membership is free – to join go to:  https://vamboa.org/member-registration/

Special End of Year Technology Discounts (up to 50% off) Only for VAMBOA Members & Friends: https://vamboa.org/dell-technologies/

By Debbie Gregory.

Word of mouth is still one of the most powerful advertising methods.  People highly value and trust the opinions of those they know and love. If you can get them to speak positively of your business, odds are good their friends and family will be knocking at your door as well.

Even word of mouth from strangers can have a huge impact on a person’s buying habits. Online reviews are very important with approximately 9 of 10 people reading and being influenced by online reviews. Most people use online reviews to determine whether a business is trustworthy and deserving of their business. This is consistent with all types of businesses including doctors, attorneys, restaurants, tradespeople, brick and mortar retail stores, E-Commerce stores and more.

What can you do to get people to talk positively about your business? Below are some ways to help you foster more positive word of mouth endorsements and grow your business.

Ask for Testimonials and Display Them Prominently:

Customer testimonials are powerful endorsements. Make sure that your business is in the habit of asking for testimonials and make sure that you display prominently where others can find and read them. Share the testimonial on your website, on your social media channels and you can even print and post them in your place of business.

Make It Easy for Your Customers to Contact You:

Poor communication will frustrate people and drive customers away from you. You need to be reachable across multiple platforms and in multiple ways. Make sure that your website is easy to read and navigate.   Being responsive can make a huge difference. Make sure contact numbers, emails, or a contact form are all easy to access and use. It is important that your phone connects, that someone answers courteously, and that your voicemail has space to receive new messages if no one can pick up the call. Answer all voicemails, emails, and messages received through social media in a timely and professional manner.

Provide Excellent Customer Service:

Excellent customer service is the most important thing you can focus on to gain positive word of mouth as well as set yourself apart from your competition. If someone is unhappy with your customer service, they are even MORE likely to tell their friends and family than if they have a positive experience with your business. They will also take their own as well as the business of those near and dear to them elsewhere.  It is critical that you demonstrate to your customers how important they are to you. Treat them as you would want to be treated, with kindness, courtesy, respect, and show that you are interested in their needs.

Stay tuned for the second part of this series which will discuss engaging people on social media, monitoring your online reputation, maintaining a positive image both in person and online, and how giving your time or and/or donations that can greatly improve your business reputation.