We think so! Here 15 ways how to support your friend’s small business

Who wouldn't want to support their friends' small businesses?... THAT'S A TRICK QUESTION! Support comes in all shapes and sizes, it can be a simple “good luck” or an investment check, the choice is yours, but support comes a long way and it is always remembered by the person starting the business.

 When you want to support a friend’s business you should do it generously, without no benefits involved and it can't be brought back up in the future, for example, well “I brought this from you” or  “I did that for you” you give the support wish them the best and never bring it back up, nowadays it can be very personal when you don’t show any type of support to your friend or family member, and it’s sad because you don’t need money to show support, it can be the smallest stuff that can mean the most to friends and family starting a business.

In this article, I will list some ways to support your friend’s business some have to do with money, some labor, and so on. 

 Ways to support your friends and business without spending money 

 When it comes to supporting people think money is needed, not all the time a matter of fact sometimes money is the last thing needed when it comes to supporting a friend's business there's some stuff you can thats free and may help that out a lot more check this list out below! 

1. Work with them: New entrepreneurs that are just starting a business always need help, they may not ask or hire, and that’s because they can afford it at the moment, and bringing in full-time or part-time employees may hurt them in the long run, but as you are the good friend that you are..you can always offer to help nicely. Here are a few examples of the type of help you can offer.

• Example 1. Offering assistance in working a couple of hours a week on the task they didn’t finish 
• Example 2. Managing a social media  account for them
• Example 3: managing their emails for them 

2. Tag em: One of the easiest but most effective ways is tagging their social media account, this is one of the best ways to support your friend’s business..a lot of people don’t realize by tagging a business in a post can bring them, new visitors, which could turn into a lead, so whether you have a following of a few hundred to a few thousand if you have a friend that has a business and you don’t have the time or money tagging them in the post or sharing their business page will put a smile on there face.

3. Give an idea: Some entrepreneurs will not take advice but it's better to give than to stay quiet, if you can offer your advice say it nicely, using the words what do you think if you… not I think you should, or I love what you did here, what if you added this not I would have added this… So you get my point, a few ideas can go a long way, and even if your ideas were not put to use they will be remembered down the line. 

4. No financial questions: The most important way to support a friend’s business is to zip it! Lol don’t ask financial questions, these types of questions don’t need to be discussed at all if they are brought to you. listen, if not then leave it alone here are 3 questions to avoid asking:

• Question not to ask #1: How much have you made so far?
• Question not to ask # 2: How much have you spent so far?
• Question not to ask # 3: Are you getting customers?

 5. Write for them: This should be ahead of the list when it comes to how to support your friend's small business for free this wins them all, especially coming from a website owner myself…A lot of business owners deal with content, whether is for their business website blog, social media content or email marketing this requires unique content, if you are serious about supporting your friend’s business you can always offer to write for them on the weekend for a small fee till business picks up and then it will probably turn into a full-time job for you with better pay, writing a thousand blog will take you anywhere from an hour to two hours and it will help them very much, taking that from your friends business person will help your friend they will now be able to utilize that time elsewhere 

6. Send them referrals: Referrals make up eighty percent of new businesses sales,  finding new leads is the ultimate support, sit down with your friend and ask them questions about the business like what type of customers they want are looking for customers in the food industry or landscaping leads, whatever they need you to help them find customers.

 7. Find them business tools: Let's use basic support for your friend’s business, let’s say you see your friends struggling to try to manage multiple things at once, you can go online and find business tools for them to help them ease up on all their tasks, there are so many tools that literally can save an entrepreneur day a week, some tools to find to support your friends business:

• Social media: scheduling tool-social media scheduling is a great way to save time when it comes to posting, you can do it all at once add your tags, and saves lots of time…

• billing software: collecting invoices is a job by itself, using the right software for this can also reduce time and stress when it comes to billing

• routing software: your friend’s business has to do with delivering customers? Find them a routing software so they can add their customers and set up daily routes

• payroll software: paying employees the old fashion way with a pen and paper to track hours and days is old news if your friend’s business still does this let us change that for them, Hint: google payroll software.

8. Donate: If you don’t have the time or energy to support but still want to show some support cut them a check, a small donation towards their business, this can be in a form of money or even a gift card from amazon, This method of support will come in handy when trying to support your friends business! 

 9. Connections: If you heard of the old saying “it’s not what you know, but who you know” This section is for that, a way to support your friend’s business is by offering some of your connections, this can be anyone from a wholesaler to even a website developer, this shows your friend you have the best of interest for them.

10. Listen: This one requires the least but most effective support system and it is to sit down with your friend and listen to them, let them clear their mind, vent if needed, tell you the problems they are facing and show support by being there, this helps entrepreneurs by letting out emotions they have built up after a long day, I am pretty sure we all have a friend that is trying to build a business if so reach out to them and ask them how are they doing? And just listen! It’s easy

11. Reviews: If your friend has a website or social media review, and you made a purchase that you liked and the service was great the product or service was on time, then leave a review, reviews boost rankings on Google and social media platforms if they enrolled with Trustpilot then rate them, if it’s on google leave them a positive review from a customer perspective side, this takes minutes and can help when looking for a way to support your friends business.

12. Keep your distance: Once you offered your support, and did what you can, you can be on standby and allow your friend to focus on their business, distancing yourself from a friend that you were always going out with and meeting with is nothing but normal, it’s not a sign of jealously and you should make that clear to them, tell them face to face I am here for you, but you need to focus on your business now! 

Ways to support your friend's business by spending money 

Now that we covered the list of how to support your friend's business without spending money here is a list of ways to support with money!! 

1. Gifts: Who doesn’t like gifts, your friend may be working from home on their dining table, while managing their family and other stuff, so find them a next home office gift that might come in handy for them…Here are some gifts to consider to gift your friend as a sign of support.

•     Printer

•     Scanner

•     Laptop

•     Night light

2. Invest: If your friend has a promising business and they are capable of running it, you can always offer to invest, investing as a partner not as a friend, this means keeping it totally business, don’t mix your friendship with the business deal get in between this, get a lawyer involved to make the deal don’t just hand over money, this is not the same as splitting a dinner bill!

3. Buy from them: If your friend’s business is selling an item or offering a service, a great way to show support is to eventually buy something from them, this is only if you can afford to but it’s not a mandatory suggestion, buying something you don’t need just to make a friend feel like you had to show support is not a good idea if you don’t need it don’t buy, sharing their product will help there business boost sales more then your one-time purchase, let us say your friend business is a printing business company and you don’t need anything printed share there link to your business colleagues! 

4. Giftcards: Get them gifts card that they can use and no not a gift card for apple bees, but gift cards from staples, or best buy places they can buy gadgets and equipment they need for their business, those will come in handy and it will be a gift to remember.

What to do When your friends don't support your business?

Now if you happened to stumble across this article and you are an entrepreneur that just started your business your friends didn't show any love then cheer up, chances are it's nothing personal, just keep doing what you are great at, build your business and that should be that last thing on your mind and when they happen to see you again and they ask “ hows that business going, tell them time will only tell. You don't wanna say business is booming when it's not it might come back to haunt you and you don't want to tell business sucks because it might bring down your energy, so answer simple and don't give up to much info, you started the business because you had a vision and in that vision was you, your business and your customers happy.

CONCLUSION: Overall, when trying to find ways to support your friend's business always understand that your friend is going thru a lot and not all support to your friend's business is by money, when you show someone support by cheering them on, encouraging them it really can help them go a long way, support plays a big deal, with anxiety on the rise reaching out and showing someone that you are there will play a big part, sometimes the best support to your friend's business can be free, building a business can drain someone and any help from a friend is needed, it can be a word of wisdom to offering a few hours a week of help, no matter what happens with your friends business, whether it succeeds or fails they will always remember who was there for them from the very beginning and that will be all that matters.