Make More Money!

An Excellent Business Strategy by Jane Thurnell-Read

Every month I give 12% of the profit from my business to charity. This is not only a moral decision, its also a shrewd business decision. I originally gave 10% but, it has proved to be such a good investment strategy for my business that I increased it to 12%.

I originally started giving money to charity because I wanted to do my bit. Then some years ago I decided to formalise this and give 10% of my income each month to charity. Some people call this tithing and think of it in a religious sense, but you don't need to be religious to find this makes good sense.

I was amazed that in the few months after I made that decision my income increased dramatically, and I found I appreciated and enjoyed the money I had much more than I'd ever done. I'm not certain of the mechanism, but I think it works a bit like an affirmation: every time I give money in this way Im saying that I don't have to worry about money, more will keep coming. Also I know that the more I earn the more other people benefit. Money becomes a friend and not something nasty but necessary.

I used to run a one-day workshop, Managing Your Practice for Success, and I told people that one of the most important things I felt they could do was to give some of their money away. Some of the participants at these seminars tried it, and it was good to hear that they had the same experience the amount they had each month had increased significantly since they had made the decision to give some of it away, and they were finding they were less stressed about financial matters generally.

10% may seem a lot if you have little. As you have more, it also seems a lot in an absolute sense. Theres always a good reason not to do it. Although I know it works, I feel a little resistance each month when I do it, but I also get a great glow of satisfaction.

In order to make my giving tax effective and flexible I manage my donations through the web site of the UK Charities Aid Foundation. This also means I get that glow of satisfaction three times: once when I put money in my charity account, again when I see what the tax refund on it is, and thirdly when I donate it to the charity of my choice. The web site also allows me to donate money anonymously so that I dont get a lot of charity mail that I would prefer not to receive. There may be similar web sites in other countries.

However you give your money, try it and see if it's as good a business decision for you as it is for me. This is yet another way to have a successful business.