Succeed As Your Own Boss

ENDING SMALL BUSINESS FAILURE

  • Home
  • About
  • Book Melinda
  • Consulting
  • SBL Store
  • SmallBizLady University
  • Free Tools
  • Podcast
  • #Smallbizchat
    • Be a #SmallBizChat Guest
  • Blog
  • Contact
    • We’re Hiring!
You are here: Home / Branding & Marketing / How to Add Social Impact in Your Small Business

How to Add Social Impact in Your Small Business

June 2, 2014 By Melinda Emerson 1 Comment

Feel free to share...Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on google
Google
Share on linkedin
Linkedin
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on reddit
Reddit
Share on email
Email
Share on print
Print

How to Add Social Impact in Your Small BusinessGoose Lopez-Torres was the top sales person at Central Florida Box Corporation in Winter Park, Florida. To get prospects to take his calls, he spent $200 a week dropping off bagels at their offices. He would return to a prospect’s office and see the same bag of bagels still there. Seeking a new way to make an impression, he bought a $60 pair of New Balance sneakers, sent one shoe in the mail to a prospect with a note that asked “Can I get a foot in the door?” Mr. Lopez-Torres got the meeting that ultimately developed into Complete the Pair, a charitable business alternative for anyone that wants to get in front of their target audience.

The Complete the Pair platform mimics LinkedIn in the way that people create a professional profile. Once a person purchases a package from complete the pair at 34.95 plus $4.99 shipping and handling, a shoe is mailed to the buyer and the other shoe is mailed to the prospect. The company started almost a year ago, so far they’ve sold 4,000 units with a 50% profit margin.

Here’s how it works: Each shoe is affixed with a 5-digit code that uniquely identifies a pair. There is a note inside of the shoe that tells the prospective client to log onto to the website to retrieve their unique message. Once they arrive, they can see the sender’s biography, picture, company information along with a custom note asking for a meeting to complete the pair so that the shoes can be donated to someone in need. They formed a partnership with Soles4Souls, a large shoe charity to handle their donations.

Mr. Lopez-Torres and his partner Scott Miller raised $430,000 to start the business. They received an SBA loan from BBT Bank for $120,000, put in $50,000 of seed money and $260,000 from investors all of which were friends and family. Complete the Pair largely targets sales professionals looking to land a meeting with a potential client. Recently, they started attracting job seekers with a desire to stand out and make a good first impression.

If you want to have more impact in your business here’s how to get started:

Decide On the Cause: What cause or change are you passionate about – nature, homelessness, or education? Make a clear decision of a single purpose that you want to align your brand with. Be able to share the story of “why” this cause is important to you and the difference you plan to make for the cause.

Find a Way to Deliver: Once you decide on a cause the business will serve, make a plan to deliver. You could either fulfill the need yourself, like Charity Water builds wells or you could form a partnership like Complete the Pair did with Soles4Souls.

Make the Offer Clear: If you are tying your impact to your pricing model, make the offer easy to understand. For example it’s more confusing to say that 10% of a sale goes to a non-profit, nobody, wants to calculate your philanthropic efforts. It’s much easier, to adopt the one-for-one model which is used by Complete the Pair, for every pair of shoes you buy to get a meeting, they give a pair away to a person in need.

Share the Story: You can’t make a difference if you don’t share the impact you want to make with your customers. Make it a part of your marketing messages, invite your customers to participate in any way they wish – whether it’s buying, spreading the word or volunteering. Lastly, don’t forget to show on your website and in social media the impact that you are creating – display and share pictures with your friends and followers.

A small business owner can make a big difference; you have a few ideas for changing the world.

What’s the impact you would like to have through your business?

Feel free to share...Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on google
Google
Share on linkedin
Linkedin
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on reddit
Reddit
Share on email
Email
Share on print
Print

Filed Under: Branding & Marketing Tagged With: charitable marketing, Complete the Pair, social impact, Soles4Souls

Fix Your Business Now!

Order SmallBizLady's new book Fix Your Business, 90-Day plan to Get Back Your Life and Reduce Chaos in Your Business. It includes the 12 Ps of Running a Successful Business and readers will finish the book with a new strategic plan to take their business to the next level.

About Melinda Emerson

Melinda F. Emerson, “SmallBizLady” is America’s #1 Small Business Expert. She is an internationally renowned keynote speaker on small business development, social selling, and online marketing strategy. As CEO of Quintessence Group, her Philadelphia-based marketing consulting firm serves Fortune 500 brands that target the small business market. Clients include Amazon, Adobe, Verizon, VISA, Google, FedEx, Chase, American Express, The Hartford, and Pitney Bowes. She also has an online school, www.smallbizladyuniversity.com, that teaches people online marketing and how to start and grow a successful small business and publishes a blog SucceedAsYourOwnBoss.com. Her advice is widely read, reaching more than 3 million entrepreneurs each week online. She hosts The Smallbizchat Podcast and is the bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Revised and Expanded, and Fix Your Business, a 90 Day Plan to Get Back Your Life and Reduce Chaos in Your Business.

Comments

  1. Patricia A. Patton says

    June 5, 2014 at 5:28 pm

    Loved this post and the specific case study you used to make the point. A lot of want -to-be business owners are looking for specific ways to integrate a cause close to their hearts. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let’s Connect

  • facebook
  • instagram
  • tiktok
  • pinterest
  • linkedin
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • feedburner

Sign up for the SmallBizLady BUZZ Newsletter and be the first to receive updates and details about upcoming events:

We’re proud to be part of the Mediaplanet Empowering Small Business campaign! The COVID-19 pandemic brought hardship and ruin on the nation’s small businesses, but there’s now reason for hope. Learn about the resources, support, and tools available to help your small business bounce back and grow stronger than ever by picking up a copy of the campaign in USA Today and reading it online here.

Get a FREE Chapter of SmallBizLady’s Book,
"Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Revised and Expanded"!

Become Your Own Boss

Most Popular Posts

>Seven Ways to be More Profitable in Your Small Business
> 7 Ways to Attract Customers to Your Small Business
> 6 Tips for Managing Small Business Finances
> How to Run a Successful Multilevel Marketing Business
> 10 Ways to Grow Your Small Business With Instagram
> How to Sell on Facebook
> How to Get Over the Fear of Starting a New Business

Featured Videos

6 ABC Action News
Global Trade Summit

Bloomberg News Interview
How to Support Small Businesses During the Holidays

National Speakers Association
Winter Conference

Fox 29 Philadelphia
'Small Biz Lady' gives best advice for starting a new business in the New Year

Fox Business
Starting a Business

MSNBC
The importance of job mentoring for women

#SmallBizChat Live
National Small Business Week: Q&A

Good Day Philadelphia
Expert Shares Tips on How to Become Your Own Boss

Testimonials

Become Your Own Boss is a must read if you’re thinking of launching a business of your own.
Jean Chatzky, Bestselling Author of Money 911 and Financial Editor of NBC’s Today Show
Great step-by-step advice for anyone looking to start their own business.
Andrew C. Taylor, Chairman, Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Melinda Emerson has written a remarkable book. It is essential reading for anyone seeking to make the transition from working girl to successfully working it, as an entrepreneur.
Cynthia McClain-Hill, Past President, National Association of Women Business Owners
The perfect companion for those planning to go out on their own. Melinda delivers firsthand practical advice on how to be the successful entrepreneur. Read it if you want to get it right the first time.
Kenneth L. Shropshire, Professor at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania
If you are looking for a versatile speaker who can talk about how to grow small businesses or get started with social media, look no further.
Heather Van Sickle Executive Director, National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE)
Her wit and depth of subject knowledge were entertaining and empowering. Melinda is definitely on our short list of seasoned entrepreneurs and business leaders we look to invite back in the near future.
Tennille M. Robinson Senior content & Event producer for Inc. magazine
Melinda Emerson, “SmallBizLady,” is an engaging and witty speaker and a great addition to any conference. Her terrific presentation and compelling delivery give people the information they need and want to become their own bosses and grow success… Read more
Laurie Dalton White Conference Director, Pennsylvania Conference for Women
Melinda Emerson has been a fantastic small business and social media resource for the Pitney Bowes team. Not only is she personable and easy to work with, but she also has an innate understanding of the small business audience. My marketing programs … Read more
Justin Amendola, Former VP, Global SMB Digital Strategy, Pitney Bowes

Latest #SmallBizChat

From Visibility to Profitability: How to Build a Membership Site That Keeps Customers for Life

In today’s crowded online world, most entrepreneurs understand the importance of visibility and trackability. Social media helps people find you. Email helps you stay in touch. But neither of those tools, on their own, build long-term loyalty or sustainable revenue. If you’re looking to grow from transactional income to predictable profit, it’s time to build […]

Fix Your Business Q&A Video

Recent Posts

  • From Visibility to Profitability: How to Build a Membership Site That Keeps Customers for Life
  • The SmallBizChat Podcast: Hit It and Quit It with Hit It and Quit It with Leyanis Diaz and Tara Landes
  • How to Build a Thriving Reddit Community That Aligns with Your Audience
  • The SmallBizChat Podcast: How to Have Maximum Impact in Your Business with Tara Landes
  • June 2025 #SmallBizChat: How to Manufacture Products in the Trump Era

#SmallBizChat

  • SmallBizChat Archive
  • @SmallBizLady

Business Advice

  • How to Start

SmallBizLady Store

Products

Free Chapter

Get In Touch

  • FAQ
  • Be a #SmallBizChat Guest
  • Contact Us
Copyright © 2025
Quintessence Entertainment, Inc
PO Box 280
Drexel Hill, PA 19026
(610) 352-0680
Privacy Policy · Refund Policy

Let’s Connect

  • facebook
  • instagram
  • tiktok
  • pinterest
  • linkedin
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • feedburner

Popup Image ×