How to Champion a Missional Business: 5 Ways to Support Small Business Owners
Small businesses make up the backbone of Canadian society, employing almost 50% of Canadians in the total private labour force!
In honour of Small Business Month, we created a list of five ways to support the amazing leaders behind our communities:
Buy Local.
This is one of the most effective ways to support a small business owner. Not only does it show that their product is valuable, but it also shows that you resonate with their brand and believe in their mission.
When you buy local, you’re not simply putting money back into the community, you’re also investing in the life of the owner, their family, and the families of their employees.
Refer others to their business.
The best publicity comes through word of mouth. Most small business owners don’t have the time or money to launch nation-wide campaigns, but they have something even better: YOU.
To those in your circle, your opinion is far more credible than any billboard or ad-campaign. By sharing your personal experience with a small business, you encourage others to support them too.
Pray with them.
As believers, we know that prayer is the foundation of everything we do, including business. One of the best ways to support a small business owner is to partner with them in prayer. Whether it’s for their personal wellbeing, or that of their business, prayer can lighten their burdens and strengthen their faith.
The next time you visit your local business, why not ask the owner how you can be praying for them?
Affirm their call to business.
Many Christian business owners feel that their work in business only offers financial contribution to the Kingdom. This is simply not true. God calls His followers into business to display His redemptive love for Creation and affirm the dignity of all people. In this way, business is integral to the mission of God.
By affirming a business owner’s call into business, you assure them that God has uniquely called them into the industry and desires to use their business for His glory.
Connect them with other like-minded business owners.
In conversation with Christian business owners across Canada, we found that many feel alone on the journey. It’s hard for them to find a place for their skills within the church, yet there also seems to be no place for their faith in the business world.
If you know a small business owner who’s experienced this feeling, you can help by connecting them with other business owners on the same journey. In community, they are able to share the joys and difficulties of entrepreneurship with likeminded people.
To all small business owners, thank you.
We know that being a business owner can often be lonely and isolating - but it doesn’t have to be. Not only did we create this list to help others support you, but we also created a community just for you.
Join the BAM Canada Network to connect with a community of likeminded people with a heart for God and business.
Happy Small Business Month from the BAM Canada Team! 🎉
