I truly believe that giving away your best stuff is good for you and your business. On the face of it, giving away your best stuff may not make sense. Yet, sharing valuable information and ideas for free pays off in the end.

Many of us have been reflecting on how we can be of service to others during the COVID-19 era.

We can each give of ourselves in countless ways, and it’s important to find the ways that fit you. Seeing so many people losing their jobs and business owners struggling, I decided to give back by helping job seekers and small business owners.

How I Found a Way to Give Away My Best Stuff

In April, a leader of a national membership organization asked me to do a virtual LinkedIn training for their members. Many of these individuals work in the casino industry and had lost their jobs or been furloughed.

I provided a two-part LinkedIn training on Zoom geared toward helping them seek new employment. At the end of the second session, I offered the attendees a free 30-minute one-to-one LinkedIn session.

Many attendees took me up on my offer and expressed their deep gratitude for my help. During those sessions, conducted over Zoom, I reviewed their profiles and offered suggestions for improvement.

Just as I was finishing these sessions, a leader of a business organization asked me to do another LinkedIn training. I jumped at the opportunity and again offered free LinkedIn profile critique sessions to attendees.

At this point, I realized that there must be other membership organizations whose members could benefit from a similar presentation. So, I decided to continue to offer these services for free for the rest of the summer.

 

Soliciting Opportunities to Give Away My Best Stuff

My first step was to decide who my target audience was for these free LinkedIn trainings. In addition to membership organizations, I chose to offer my trainings to nonprofits. I selected them because they may not be getting as many donations of time and/or money than they did before the COVID-19 era. So, by giving these trainings for free (and not just at a discounted rate), I could help them.

The next step was to spread the word about my desire to help. I posted on Facebook and LinkedIn about my offer of free LinkedIn training and profile critique sessions. Then, I emailed about 25 of my closest business associates and asked them to share my social media posts.

Almost all of them were kind enough to do that. Others did email introductions with people from nonprofit or membership organizations.

I’ve been so touched by the wonderful ways in which my associates have shared these posts and emails. Membership and nonprofit organizations are starting to contact me to schedule presentations, and I’m simply delighted.

It’s such a blessing to be able to give away my best stuff. And this is especially true in a time when so many people need help.

If you know anyone involved in a membership or nonprofit organization who could benefit from my free trainings, please spread the word. Have them email me at joyce@boomerssocialmediatutor.com

 

How About You?

Do you believe in giving away your best stuff? How have you been donating your services in the last few months?

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 45 and up, to become more effective using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

She works with business owners, business development professionals, business consultants, job seekers, and more – ranging from entrepreneurs to people in large corporations. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.