There are so many ways to give back

IN MY experience, when entrepreneurs become successful, they begin to think about how they can give back. They start thinking about the impact they can make on society, on the next generation of entrepreneurs, and their local communities.

For many years, my purpose in life has been twofold: to build meaningful businesses and to do all I can to have a positive impact in the world around me.

Luckily, there are many channels out there for entrepreneurs seeking to do good: you can channel a percentage of profits to worthy causes, make personal donations, and even become a start-up investor to encourage the next wave of entrepreneurs.

But I’d like to talk to you about another route to make an impact.

Sometimes, as a business builder, your time is worth more than money. Your experience, insight, your contacts, your knack for seeing solutions to complex issues – that is a currency that has the potential to accelerate the growth of an organisation far quicker than cold, hard cash.

This is why I have started giving my time away to businesses that I really believe in – for free.

I recently joined MoreLife, a company that supports people to live healthier lives, as a strategic adviser and board observer. MoreLife takes a holistic approach to helping its customers, through weight management, giving up smoking, healthy cooking and more.

It’s a cause that is close to my heart, both as someone who has constantly battled with my own weight, and through concern for my son Joseph, whose learning difficulties mean that he struggles to make healthy decisions.

I met the founder, Professor Paul Gately, many years ago and wanted to get involved – but could never find the time. After moving into my chairman role at BigChange, we started talking about how I could help him with growth, sales and marketing, and I’m delighted that I’m now actively creating strategies and plans with Paul to help achieve all his goals.

I couldn’t be more impressed by all that MoreLife has achieved to date. They helped 5,500 people in Manchester alone last year, and many of the individuals they serve come from deprived areas.

I’m particularly moved by MoreLife’s successes in childhood obesity, giving kids the tools to stay healthy their whole life long.

For any business leaders out there who are considering supporting a business in this way, I thought I’d share my learnings so far. Be prepared for your time investment to be front loaded. It may take quite a few meetings to get under the skin of the business in the early days and to start creating momentum, but once things are up and running, you can usually drop your time commitment to a couple of days a month.

If you give your time for free, and don’t invest in the business, it’s easier to give your advice without being seen to have an agenda, which helps maximise your impact. Finally, know your strengths and limit your advice to the areas where the business needs support – MoreLife has an outstanding team and I would never interfere with the services they provide, or presume to understand their customers better than they do.