Five may not seem like a lot of ideas, but we promise that you’ll want to try at least one of these for your small business.

Getting involved with the community as a new business can seem daunting – especially if you’re new to the area. One of the best ways to draw people to your business and get them interacting with your employees is to host an interesting event.

The subject of these events will change depending on your business, as an arts and crafts shop may not need a visit to Go Ape. There’s something out there for each and every business.

Training Sessions

If you own a business where people may have to learn something in order to use your service, then training sessions are a vital addition to your schedule. For companies that pride themselves in activities and sports, hosting days out to learn a talent or play a sport are ideal to get some new business and meet like-minded people.

Workshops

Although these aren’t dissimilar to training sessions, there is a difference. Workshops are more focused on hosting an event that is open to anyone, and are particularly community-friendly. In contrast, training sessions tend to take place out of the work space and require sports activities.

A perfect example of a workshop would be for a small retail shop that sells home-made goods. They are the perfect spaces to host crafts workshops, which are available to families. This is almost an alternative to a community centre, and will work in your favour when you’re trying to meet new customers.

Fundraising

Fundraising is a great idea for bringing in community spirit. Whether it’s organising a bake sale or setting up an exercise bike and cycling for 12 hours, there’s plenty of fundraising ideas that can bring in people to your shop and raise awareness for a charity of your choice at the same time.

Getting help from larger charities is normally the easiest way of doing this, and it’s a great idea when a charity event is coming up, such as Children in Need or Sport Relief.

Networking Events

If you’re looking to appeal to other businesses and connect with potential customers, networking is a perfect introduction for the start up. Hosting the event will earn you points as well, especially if you host a cocktail hour! It can be the perfect opportunity for you to meet people in your field and related industries, and will make your brand stand out at the same time.

Webinar

An alternative to a physical event, and becoming increasingly popular with online brands and social media marketers. Webinars are perfect for gaining a wider audience and more international awareness for you and your company. It does require some confidence to put yourself on camera, but it will be worth it in the long run!

Webinars can cover anything from how to make a cushion to a class on making your content marketing campaigns as efficient as possible. The great thing is people must input their email in order to join, meaning you can add them to an email marketing list and stay in touch with them.

Have you hosted a small business event recently? Or are you planning one? Leave a comment below letting us know what you’re up to!