Business Freebies & Business Giveaways: Killing Your Small Business?

Working with charities is a good way to get the word out about your small business and do some good at the same time. But how do you decide when to say no?

Something that a lot of small businesses are doing is using charitable giving as a tax deduction and publicity strategy. They want to give out business freebies to people to tell them about their business and bring them in as customers.

Well, that’s a good idea, but there is such thing as being too generous.

Small business owners make a lot of mistakes when it comes to giving items away that hurt their business more than they help it.

Here are some of the more common charitable giving mistakes that can cut into your bottom line:

Free information

It’s true that your small business should provide people with information on your products and services. But to avoid this charitable giving mistake, it’s also important to compare the amount of money that you spend on things such as brochures with the amount of business that they bring in.

Instead of sending brochures (which can be expensive!) out to everyone, it’s a better idea to send the information out to people who are specifically looking for it.

Free samples and promotional items

Everyone loves getting business freebies. But just because someone gets a free sample doesn’t mean that they will be become customers. Save free samples and business give aways for people that you know are likely to buy products.

Another charitable giving mistake is promotional items. Promotional items are a great way to get the word out about a business but they can also be costly if they are given out to people who have no interest in the business or products.

Donations

Once your small business starts up, you can expect representatives from charities to come to your door asking for donations from time to time.

Yes, charities are a great way to get a tax deduction – but it’s important to know when to say no.

Perks for employees

Most small business owners like to let the people who work for them know that they are appreciated. They give them rewards when the business is doing well.

But people work hard even when times are slow – so it’s important that your small business has a way to reward employees even during slow times.

Charitable acts can be a great way to get the information out about your small business, but they can also hurt your company if you aren’t careful.

As a small business owner, you should be careful about the money you spend on different types of business freebies, give aways and generous acts, especially when you are first starting out.

You should look at your prospects to see if they are really interested in the product before giving then a business freebie sample or promotional item, watch your spending on donations, and only send out business give aways, brochures and pamphlets to people who are likely to be interested.

After your small business has been around for a while, you are going to learn how to look for prospects. Over time, your company is also likely to be in a better financial position to be able to give out things such as donations, business give aways, free samples, and brochures.

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