If you want to gain some visibility for your business, and you’re willing to barter or offer something for free, there’s a great resource you might check out called “The Haves & Needs List.”
Sign up to receive the daily email at Business Helping Business, where you’ll get a simple list of products or services that businesses are willing to give other businesses, or a request for things needed by other small businesses. It’s free to subscribe to the list and it’s also free to submit listings.
You should get the list for a few days to get the feel for the kinds of things included before you post. This isn’t the place to post a blatant advertisement for your business or to offer a simple discount. While not every “Have” or “Need” is totally free, the idea for this service is the principle of businesses helping other businesses succeed.
Some examples:
• Recent “haves” included a free template for a web site and the offer by a 20-year-old female race car driver/motivational speaker to talk to schools or groups about her experiences.
• Recent “needs” included a request for a travel agent mentor to help an agent tweak their sales approach and a request for help to find sponsors for a free resource web site (this request indicated a willingness to pay).
Think about how you can use this list to promote your business. Do you have an information product you’re willing to offer for free? Could you offer to trade your services for another service to help your business? Regardless of what you post, just your presence will put your business in a positive light as a small business helping others. It's called paying it forward.
Go give something away!
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Hello Gail. Thanks so much for the great article about BusinessHelpingBusiness.com. I also wanted to mention that April 16th is National Business Helping Business Day. More information on National Business Helping Business Day can be found at http://www.businesshelpingbusiness.com/national-business-helping-business-day. We hope to see you there!
Hi Stephanie — Thanks for stopping by! Yes, I know about Thursday, April 16! That’s a wonderful day for all of us in small business to celebrate. I’m teaming up with two other businesses in my area to offer the first of three “lunch and learn” series on business fitness. If we all do a little to help each other, then we all benefit!