How non-money making volunteer work can change entrepreneurs and others

Being an entrepreneur can certainly become a goal in its own – and there’s nothing wrong with that. But by simply looking beyond the bottom line, entrepreneurs can dramatically enhance the lives of those who might be less fortunate.

“Show me the money!” is a phrase made famous by Tom Cruise in the film Jerry Maguire in 1996. Cruise played a sports agent who vigorously sought to get the highest dollars for his clients.

Entrepreneurs have a similar challenge and motivation in business; however, we are our own clients. I’m certain most entrepreneurs envision the day when their products and services are in high demand and can command the highest value.

This mentality is common in entrepreneurship. It’s the confidence, belief and knowledge that your business is your most treasured client. Therefore, it’s perfectly logical that your goal is to generate the greatest revenue through all means necessary. This is the foundation of good business, right? Your service/product equals monetary value.  As a budding entrepreneur in the field in health and fitness, I’m learning the true value of my services through service.

A Great Opportunity

I recently attended an event for entrepreneurs and was excited about the hopes of attracting new clients. Well, those hopes were surpassed when a fellow entrepreneur approached me with an opportunity to share my health-coaching services with the local Christian Women’s Job Corp organization.

To be honest, I’d never heard of this group before so I agreed to discuss it more at a later time before making a commitment. I soon learned the Christian Women’s Job Corp was a ministry working to bring hope to women through Bible study, one-on-one mentoring, new life skills and job-readiness preparation. “Wow,” I thought, “what a great opportunity!” But wait, how much does this opportunity pay?

Before I could formulate my thoughts and words, it was made clear this was a volunteer position. Although, I knew this was going to be a significant obligation of my time and services, without hesitation I firmly stated my commitment to the group and started the following week. So instead of hoping to generate a few new clients from the networking event, I was blessed with about a dozen.