Since it's just past Thanksgiving and with the holiday season upon us, I’ve got to acknowledge the power of being involved in your community if you’re a contractor. After all, you helped to build your community and you continue to do so every day. 

Being involved means helping out, lending a hand, volunteering, and serving in a non-profit capacity. Why? Well, not only is it the right thing to do, it also turns out to make good business sense.

Sometimes, when we’re busy and caught up in the day-to-day of building projects, we tend to forget that each home we build, each bridge we build, each hospital we improve, each project we complete all contribute to the community that we live and work in. When your head is focused on scheduling, project delivery and trade contractors’ performance, it might not be obvious that there is a bigger picture.

And that’s the purpose of being involved... it’s not only to help us grasp that there’s something bigger us, but also to provide our building expertise where it’s so badly needed. 

It might be the Boys and Girls Clubs, Scouts, Little League, your church, Habitat for Humanity, your local museums, saving the community's open spaces, or any other non-profit entity whose mission that you believe in. 

It’s your ability to organize, get things done, and produce something tangible that is a skill set that is often lacking in non-profit organizations. 

So, speaking from personal experience, by being involved, you will meet some amazing people, pillars of the community, who you’ll share efforts with in a common cause. You’ll build relationships with these folks, increase your credibility, and most likely be in a place where your competitors are not. So not only are you doing good, you are also marketing what you do. That’s truly a win-win. 

So how do you get involved? Well, what local non-profit has tickled your fancy in the past? Where you said, “Wow, that’s pretty cool what they’re doing.” Then, start there. 

Reach out to the organization’s Executive Director or President of the Board of Directors and volunteer your services. Perhaps you’ll start on a Committee, which is where the real action takes place. Or perhaps you’ll be asked to join the Board. Or at the very least asked to lend your expertise to a special project. I guarantee that you won’t be turned down.

Perhaps you’re uncomfortable with those roles. Just know that you can also lend your hands-on skills in a number of ways, such as building access ramps to homes for disabled seniors and veterans. There’s a great place to start.

Yet, I encourage you to join at a bigger level whether it’s a non-profit’s Board or it’s working Committees. Not only will you build relationships with other leaders in your community, you’ll also learn leadership skills from watching how they operate.

The power of being involved in creating your community is not only the right thing to do, it also turns out to be smart business. After all, people buy from people. That is, people they know. So, build your network! Get involved,

Even better, 20 years from now, you’ll look back and feel a deep sense of satisfaction in knowing that you helped to play a big part in creating something even bigger… your community!

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With thanks to Steen Hudson for suggesting I write about this. I’ve been involved and President of many non-profits and industry trade associations over the last 30 years. While each took time and energy, each also provided insights, wisdom, connections and relationships.

Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash

Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash