Impact: what does it mean for businesses?
I’m Rachel Dunford, a multi award-winning impact specialist. I help organisations measure the impact of their work. I’m passionate about helping inspirational and exciting organisations make a positive difference to the lives of the people they work with, and I do this by teaching my clients to capture, measure and articulate their impact before showcasing it in the most powerful ways.
What is impact?
Cambridge Dictionary defines impact in three ways.
First, it talks about: “the force or action of one object hitting another”.
I don’t want to dwell on this definition. It’s much better suited to meteorites or crash test dummies.
But the second and third definitions are much more important and relevant to businesses.
Impact is “a powerful effect that something, especially something new, has on a situation or person.”
To impact is “to have an influence on something”
We ALL have an impact through the work we do.
Every single business, regardless of its size, focus, sector or client base has an impact. We have an effect and an influence on the people and organisations we work with and for.
And that effect and that influence MATTERS.
Impact can be positive: we can improve a situation, we can solve a problem, we can make things better for other people.
Knowing this - REALLY being sure of it and being able to prove, evidence and demonstrate it - is such a powerful gift (more on this later…!)
But our impact can also be negative: we can make something worse.
So, it makes sense to know which scenario is happening because - after all - our businesses survive (or don’t) on the basis of our reputation.
And if we are inadvertently having a negative impact, however small, we run the risk of damaging our relationships with our clients, our chances of success, our ability to attract new projects or people to work with us.
So, why is nobody talking about this already?
Business success is commonly measured in financial terms.
People talk about hitting their first £5k or £10k months, creating six-figure empires, turning over their first million.
And there’s nothing wrong with that. Financial security is important for obvious reasons. And reaching financial milestones is a tangible, clear way of showing that people want the things or services you are selling.
But to achieve sustainable financial success - being able to stick around for the long-haul - relies on you delivering a positive impact for your clients and customers.
We know that 20% of small businesses fail in their first year. 30% of small business fail in their second year, and 50% of small businesses fail after five years in business. A huge 70% of small business owners fail in their 10th year in business.
So how can you ensure that you’re one of those 30% that DOES exist beyond 10 years?
You need to be confident that what you do WORKS.
You need to know that what you do BENEFITS your clients.
You need to know that what you do MAKES A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE.
You need to see into your BLINDSPOTS
You need to know WHAT YOUR CLIENTS THINK OF YOU
In short, you need to KNOW YOUR IMPACT.
What can knowing your impact do for your business?
Knowing your impact is the key to the future of your business.
Impact evidence is literally gold-dust for business founders, leaders and entrepreneurs.
If you understand the difference that you are making, you have the ingredients you need to:
KEEP your clients happy
REFINE and IMPROVE your services and products
MARKET your services more confidently, and more widely
APPEAL to new clients and audiences
ATTRACT more work and new opportunities
EARN more money, increase your turnover, bring in that recurring revenue
RAISE more funds
WIN more awards, more kudos, more acclaim
SECURE that PR and get the press coverage you deserve
RAISE your profile
INCREASE your visibility.
And there are SO many more.
So, what’s stopping you? If you need a hand getting started with knowing your impact, here’s what you can do next!
Send me a message and we can talk about how I can help you.
Find out more about my impact-focussed services by clicking the Services tab above.
Book a discovery call with me to start planning your Rapid Impact Review.
I can help!