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20 Ways To Support Your Friend’s Small Online Business

September 09, 2020

Putting up a small online business is hard and can be frustrating at times but you can help your friend out through these various means.

Many small online businesses have emerged during the pandemic mainly as a means to cope for people who have lost their jobs. On the other hand, though, some small businesses were born because other people were also able to make a livelihood out of their accidental creative discoveries. Yes, one of the positive aspects brought about by the pandemic was that it was able to bring out the creativity of a lot of people. By being locked at home, individuals have discovered hidden talents, new recipes, as well as arts and crafts.

Simple ways to support your friend's small online business
Photo by Andrew Neel from Pexels

20 Ways To Support Your Friend’s Small Online Business


    The rise of small businesses 


    Small online businesses have surged in popularity during the community quarantine. It was understandably so; online is relatively less expensive as compared to having a physical store. What’s more, almost all people are already online even before the pandemic happened so it’s easier and faster to get information across electronic channels. 

    I personally know three friends who put up an online shop right before and during the community quarantine and I am happy to say that their businesses are doing well. Two are selling food items and one is reselling various clothing products and accessories. 

    Filipinos are so hard to please 


    Sadly though, it’s a different story for many other online sellers who have failed in their endeavors. Oftentimes, you hear stories about not having been able to bridge the gap in between their finances as the cause of their businesses’ collapse. 

    Meanwhile, others would say that it’s the utter lack of support that caused their inevitable failure. Come to think of it, a lot of Filipinos are really hard to please. 

    I once heard from a New Zealand-born Filipino blogger I met in a blogging group that it was his family that he found so hard to please (i.e. they would not like or follow his social media accounts no matter how hard he pestered them) to the point that he declared that Pinoy standards are “way above the sky.” I could not help but agree with him. 

    I sometimes do ask why other people, particularly those that you have not even met in person, are more supportive of your business or passion project as compared to your friends whom you grew up with. I do not have the answer to that. 

    What I can confidently say thought is that, personally, I try to support the businesses of people I know, not just my friends, without expecting anything in return from them. 

    How to help your friend’s small online business 


    There’s nothing really hard and it will not take up too much of your time or exert effort. Here are some ways to do it: 

    The lifeblood of online pages and small business is engagement from other people. This will get them in front of other people 

    1. Follow their social media accounts 


    This is undoubtedly easy and involves no cost to you at all. Give your friends a pat of confidence on the shoulder by following their social media accounts. 

    2. Leave a good review on their social media pages 


    Facebook in particular allows users to leave reviews on pages. Your friends will surely be inspired to do more with their small business when they see you leaving good reviews about their products and services. 

    3. React to what they post 


    Again, leaving a post reaction is easy and entails no additional cost to you. Also, leave a reaction to their posts. “Love” their posts to let them know that you support them. Do you know that Facebook algorithm gives more weight on reactions as compared to regular likes? 

    When their posts get a lot of reactions, Facebook bumps them up in the newsfeed of followers. Thus, a lot of people would be able to see their posts. 

    4. Watch their YouTube videos 


    If your friend’s business has a YouTube channel, then watch their videos. Creating videos is hard work and time-consuming. A short 3-minute video could have taken them the whole night to edit and finally publish it. Support their hard work by watching their YouTube videos. 

    5. Comment on and like their YouTube videos 


    The lifeblood of social media and video posts is engagement. You see, when you engage on a post or video such as leaving a comment and like, it signals the social media site that the content that you engaged on has value. 

    As such, when other people search for terms related to the post or video, there is greater likelihood that the social media site will show the most-engaged videos and post in the top result. 

    6. Share their posts 


    Help your friend’s small business reach more people by sharing their blog and social media posts, and memes. Tag them also in relevant posts whenever you can. 

    7. Share their products 


    Aside from your friend’s posts, also share their products and services in your personal newsfeed or your own page. 

    8. Mention them in your posts 


    If you are posting on social media and you know that your friend has a product or service relevant to what you are posting, mention them in it. Include their contact information if you can. 

    9. Recommend them to other people 


    Your efforts do not have to be necessarily confined in the social media and online space. You can mention your friend’s products and services or recommend them during your conversations with your colleagues, other set of friends, neighbors, or your loved ones. 

    10. Buy their products 


    Buy their products and try them for yourself. Remain anonymous because they will surely insist on giving it on a discount or even for free. Only ask for discounts when you know that their business is already doing well. 

    11. Write a review about their products if you can 


    Leave a nice review about their products in their online shop. Also do the same when their products are listed in other similar websites.

    12. Comment on their blog articles 


    If your friend keeps a blog about their small business, visit their website and comment on their articles. Again, it’s a good way to engage with their business and to give their articles a boost in search engine rankings. 

    13. Recommend suppliers that you know of  


    Refer to them suppliers that you know of, especially if they can offer good costing so that your friend can save on expenses. 

    14. Share your knowledge to them 


    If you have the technical expertise, share your knowledge to your friend. It can by anything from technology, to marketing, to cost management, or to shipping. Anything to help them improve their business or make life easier for them. 

    15. Ask them how you can help 


    Offer them your help. You might have shared your knowledge to them but they still have no idea on where to start, so maybe it’s time to give them a hand You would be surprised to know that some people, no matter how calm and composed they appear, can have a lot of turmoil going on in their head. 

    Help design promotional materials for them or help them sort their orders. Every little help goes a long way. 

    16. Talk to your friends and give them words of encouragement 


    Your friends may not always need any help with regard to the technical and logistical aspects of their business. Maybe they just need a friend to listen to them. Talk to them and give them words of encouragement. Listen to their frustrations and fears, sometimes they just need someone to hear them out. 

    17. If you know business seminars, recommend it to them 


    It helps to attend seminars. Even short, one-hour webinars are a big help. A lot of times, these seminars are not really to gain new knowledge but to affirm what we already know. 

    In the end, it works by providing the attendee more confidence because they know that they are in the right direction. 

    18. Recommend trade fairs 


    Trade fairs involve cost but it’s a good way to bring businesses closer to potential customers. It’s also a great venue to find other businesses and experts that you can network with. 

    19. Recommend Facebook groups where they can join 


    To tell you honestly, Facebook groups are a big help to me because they offer a wealth of knowledge and information. There is a Facebook group for almost any niche – blogging, small businesses, parenting, trading, almost anything! What’s also good about Facebook groups is that joining is free. 

    20. Tell them where they can improve 


    Give your friends honest feedback. Tell them the areas where they can improve. If you know people who have feedback about their products and services, inform them about it. It is only by improving their products and services that they can truly satisfy the needs of their customers. 

    Epilogue 


    The start of success begins when you support your friends and family in their small online business. That’s already a big win for them as putting up a business is hard; it involves a lot of time, effort, and resources. 

    There are various ways to help your friend's small online business succeed
    Photo by Engin Akyurt from Pexels

    As such, if you know someone who is trying their very best to make their small online business succeed, give them all the support that you can provide.
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    22 comments

    1. Great ways to support someone close in their business. This pademic has affected all of us in one way or another.

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    2. I support all my online entrepreneur friends. A simple share from their post will mean a lot to them. I, myself is an entrepreneur.

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    3. We all need to do better about following these tips. Even if you can't finiancially support someone all of the time, these other steps can help immensely! I have friends I need to do better about and I would love my friends to do the dame! Thanks for sharing!

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    4. Great ideas toward assisting your friend. We all need to be our brother's keeper.

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    5. Making friends is always good to build your business and grow together. I will start doing it. Thank you for sharing!

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    6. Absolutely agreeing with you, let's support each other esp small businesses during this difficult time of pandemic. Cheers siennylovesdrawing

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    7. I agree and try to support small business as much as I can especially with enterpreneurs I personally know as people

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    8. I never knew that Fillipinos were hard ot please. I have to ask my coworker about this. Previous coworkers were so happy-go-lucky and chilled. But, nice tips to help small businesses out! These are the bread of our society.

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    9. This is such a beautiful post, I wish everyone can follow this and lend their support to small businesses. I am surely sharing this post with all my friends.

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    10. Such a wonderful post. Sometimes we can help in ways we dont even know

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    11. supporting a friend would mean a lot, creating engagement in their social media will give them a better reach and insights

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    12. This is a great post. Especially in difficult times like these we should open our eyes - and hearts - and grant help and support wherever it's needed.

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    13. ROXAS EDGARDO8 May 2022 at 03:11

      Super perfect mommy and Daddy, At Ito po ang Nais Ko ang patuloy Kayong Masuportahan sa abot ng aking makakaya at patuloy iparamdam sa inyo ang aking Loved and Genuine Support Hanggang sa Dulo

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    14. Jowana Gumboc8 May 2022 at 03:11

      Yes. Karamihan sa mga kaibigan ko online seller. Yan Lang Kasi ang paraan nila para matustusan ang needs nila araw araw sa panahon ngayon ng pandemia. Isa ako sa mga bumibili din sa kanila
      #supportsmallbusiness

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    15. Camilo M Villanueva Jr8 May 2022 at 03:11

      Very practical and easy to do steps to help friends nurture and develop their online endeavors! This applies not only to sales Ventures but to artistic talent as well. Will share this on my FB, Sir. Thanks for this article, Sir Ivan!

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    16. Ramil Hinolan8 May 2022 at 03:12

      This is the first time I learned that the more people reacted to your post, the more that your post will rank well on google search. Thanks for this information.

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    17. It has the possibility to rank higher in social media algorithm because of good engagement. Welcome po!

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    18. You are welcome po! The same support will go a long way for us writers and bloggers.

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    19. Tama po yan. Let's support each other lang.

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