David Cummings on Startups

Food for My Soul or Help by Volunteering on the Front Line

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David Cummings

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Today, two separate entrepreneurs mentioned to me another category I had missed in my post on Developing a Rhythm for Life: community service. Each entrepreneur presented it in a different light.

The first entrepreneur said as part of a life rhythm he’d recommend volunteering on the front line of a non-profit. His point was that as a successful leader it’s easy to serve on non-profit boards and be abstracted from the real work. Rather, by serving in the trenches of a non-profit, you get an opportunity to experience the gift of giving back in a more meaningful, personal manner.

The second entrepreneur, completely unrelated to the first, offered up that being heavily involved in a large non-profit, and serving as the board chairman, is food for his soul. He talked about his excitement and sense of fulfillment seeing positive change in peoples’ lives. As an ambitious entrepreneur, he’s done very well for himself, yet he spends a significant amount of time giving back.

So, when thinking about the rhythm of your life, consider community service and non-profits in there as well.

What else? What are your thoughts on food for my soul and help by volunteering on the front line?

Comments

4 responses to “Food for My Soul or Help by Volunteering on the Front Line”

  1. Jonathan Wallace Avatar
    Jonathan Wallace

    Those are great sentiments for those that have “made it.” I’d love to hear more about the break down of how much time giving back has changed throughout the different stages of business.

    Do successful business persons serve on boards of non-profits in the early stages of their careers or their business? Is this rhythm established from the beginning or over time?

    Reply
    1. Izzy Green Avatar
      Izzy Green

      Getting involved in giving back to the community is a wonderful thing. But if your still in the startup stages of your business, don’t let this be a distraction, for now focus on building your business (and trust me, 24 hrs a day is not even enough for that) and you will have more than enough time later to give back.

      But if you will get distracted now with giving back (when you haven’t even received yet….) you will end up without a business and without community service.

      Good luck!
      Thanks for the awesome posts!!

      Reply
  2. bebraw Avatar
    bebraw

    There’s definitely truth to this. I’ve been involved in the local IT community for a couple of years. We started from pretty much nothing. A lot of good things have come out of it for all parties involved.

    If you are interested, check out Geek Collision.

    This is probably not what you had in mind when you mentioned community service but I think it’s close enough given the whole thing is entirely volunteer based. Nobody has to do absolutely anything unless they want to.

    Reply
  3. Amy Avatar
    Amy

    Having been the President of a terrific non-profit for 15 years, it was my pleasure to work with many different Board members over time, and I learned a great deal from them. Many remain high on my list of people I admire most for their selfless desire to help and to give back. They lived up to the golden expectations of a Board member who accepted the role to both give and act. Certain books write about creating Board members who are “raving fans’ – they give but also are enthusiastic about making introductions for the President or Development Director to potential major donors and going along to the meetings. I have never felt that the Board member was ever expected to ask for the major gift, but facilitating the meeting and being present always – and I mean always – resulted in various levels of success. Some members refrained from that role because they dreaded the “quid pro quo” of assuming they would likely be approached in return for a request to support their contact’s charity, therefore they sat on the sideline and applauded instead of asking to “send me in Coach!”. If you decide to be a Board member or volunteer for a charity, just know that your lasting impression can be sterling silver and permanently heroic instead of merely another name on the page.

    Reply

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