Making a big difference with small actions.

Last week was one of those weeks where throughout it all, and there was a lot going on, there seemed to be a recurring theme.

It started for me when I saw a social media influencer ask for people to donate small amounts to help a bereaved ‘follower’, and thousands of people rose to the occasion. It didn’t wipe away her devastating bereavement, but it took away the financial pressure that came with it and gave her connection and hope. Just one person doing one small thing created a domino effect. That domino effect took one small action and made it a world changer.

Now, not all of us have that kind of ‘influence’ but the great news is that we don’t need it. We just need to work with the influence we do have.

Workwise, for me, it came in the form of a workshop about how small businesses can help in ‘greening the web’. When people start to talk about green audits on small businesses, especially the web side of the business, it can seem incredibly daunting and a process they ‘can’t afford to look at’. The important thing about session last week was the focus on the little things you can do - the quick things you can check and the free tools available to do it. During a 1hr session I was able to run a mini ‘green web audit’ on a couple of small businesses I support. It was the first time for both businesses and a real insight into what positive impact could be made from that moment on with only a few small changes.

Every email we send with large attachments, every video we post that has autoplay, every page we add and what we add to it. Do we need them? If we do, can we find a better, greener, way?

We so often work on autopilot, following the same practices we always have, that it can be really eye opening when we take a moment to look at the impact that we can have without thinking. Obviously, that doesn’t just apply to work...

It isn’t about blame, or shame, but about taking what you now know and applying that. In this case, it was about implementing quick, cost-free, changes now, and planning in any bigger changes moving forward as part of business as usual.

For me, the best part was the powerful message that if every small business makes just one, easy, small, quick, change, those effects compound and together we can make a big difference.

Also, the cherry on the top, if you like cherries, is that there’s plenty of research out there to say that when you make those changes, it actually makes the user experience much better. With a better customer experience, your customers are more likely to stay and buy. Win, win!

There were things in the session that were out of bounds for resolution right now, and that’s OK. I’m a big believer in acknowledging what you can’t do and then focusing on what you can do.

Going back to that social media influencer and his follower. He couldn’t fix her financial woes himself, but he could share her story and inspire others to donate. If they couldn’t donate a large amount, they could join with the hundreds of others and their small amount would be boosted. There were those who couldn’t donate at all, but they shared the story for someone else to find and left messages of encouragement.

Individual people doing what they could do with their little bit of influence and making a big bit of difference.

This approach doesn’t just apply to ‘life on the web’. Take my daughter and a bikeability session at school. Excited faces accompanied bikes, as they rolled towards the school gates one morning. Amongst them all, one girl fought back tears. Her bike had a puncture. She was visibly heartbroken at the thought of missing out. Now my daughter can’t fix a puncture, but she did have a bike she could offer to share with her for the day.

Acknowledge what you can’t do and focus on what you can. Every little bit counts.

© @highcroftwriting

If you’d like some support performing a quick mini green web audit, please let us know. You can drop a quick message at: https://www.highcroftwriting.com/contact

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#greeningtheweb #highcroftwriting #greenwebaudit #dowhatyoucan #everylittlebitcounts