The Volunteer Effect
When people are looking for jobs, they're often advised to volunteer as a way to meet potential employers or build their skills. It's no different for a home-based business owner: Volunteering can boost your network significantly. You may also gain skills or experience in areas that you've identified as weak or perhaps add to your resume in areas of strength. And as you're volunteering, you'll be building considerable goodwill in your community.
Even if you're too busy or you travel too frequently to volunteer in an ongoing capacity, consider volunteering for specific events or projects that have a clear (and short) lifespan. You'll still be contributing, but you won't be trying to juggle an ongoing commitment with your other responsibilities.
Before you volunteer, assess how much time per week or month you have to devote to this particular cause or organization and be upfront about the commitment that you can make. If you find volunteering is interfering with time that you really need to devote to the business, find a way to gracefully scale back.
Volunteer from the Heart
There is no substitute for the energy, commitment, and enthusiasm that you generate when you're volunteering for a cause that you sincerely believe in. You need to be there first for the cause or the organization and second for your personal or business goals. Anything else will quickly become transparent to those who are volunteering with you, and you run the risk of losing their respect — which is partially why you're there in the first place.
Match Volunteer Efforts with Your Goals
Assess which of your personal or business goals you want to work toward with your volunteer efforts. Then, find an organization that you believe in and that would help you achieve those goals. Finally, look at the volunteer opportunities within the organization to find one or more that would work for you.
If you're looking to expand your contacts within your industry, for example, you could look at joining a trade-based association, or — if your industry is well represented within its membership — the local chamber of commerce. Then narrow down your volunteer participation to a committee within the organization where you'll likely find members of your industry. If, on the other hand, you've identified that you need practical experience in leadership and people management, consider an organization in which you can take such a role.
Be prepared to put in your time as a worker before you take on a leadership role. You might, for example, volunteer within the organization to begin with, next move on to a committee of the board of directors, and then perhaps to running for a position on the board itself.
Committees also work well if you're looking for ways to increase specific knowledge areas. Say that you want to improve your public relations skills in relation to the business. Volunteering to work on (but not lead) the public relations committee of an organization will give you insight into how public relations works and the various tasks that go into managing a PR campaign.
As long as you ask for direction when you need it, you can learn a significant amount simply by observing and by being part of the team that's doing the work.
