Brian Murphy is a local small business owner in the Coachella Valley who owns a Jimmy John’s franchise in Palm Desert. His business is doing so well he recently opened a second shop in La Quinta, both cities located in the Coachella Valley in California. Even now, during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic and quarantine, Brian’s business is thriving!

How is This Small Business Thriving During the Pandemic and Quarantine?

So just how is Brian keeping his sandwich shop so busy during a time of quarantine when so many other eateries are losing business? The answer is clear – he’s doing it by serving the community.

Brian has been donating free lunches to first responders, senior centers, care facilities, all those wonderful places that serve and protect the community’s needy and vulnerable, providing delicious sandwiches and sides for the essential staff, their invaluable volunteers, and the folks they serve.

Brian is not breaking his bank giving these delicious meals away though. He makes social posts sharing what organizations and individuals he will be providing free lunches to each week, and asks the community to donate to make those lunches happen. And the community responds!

Brian’s Jimmy John’s business is thriving with huge lunch orders which are paid for by donations from caring community members and then provided gratis to the folks who are doing so much to serve others during this time of need and quarantine.

It’s a Win-Win: Serve the Community and Win the Community’s Love

This is a brilliant strategy that is keeping Brian’s business in business, and busier than ever. It is truly a win-win situation – the community wins with free lunches being donated and served by caring folks and volunteers, and Brian’s Jimmy John’s sandwich shops win with a steady flow of large lunchtime catering orders, paid for by caring community members who are able to share their good fortune in a time of need. Warm fuzzies all around!

And you can be certain that when this pandemic and quarantine are over, everyone will remember Brian’s generosity and community spirit. No amount of paid advertising marketing will ever build the kind of community goodwill and customer loyalty that Brian and his sandwich serving efforts are building. Just take a look at some of these posts the recipients of his free lunches are leaving him on socials:

Giving and Receiving

Kudos to the teams at Jimmy John’s Corporate who came up with this campaign of giving to help keep their franchise owners in business. They are teaching their franchise owners with their own example of service in serving them with great ideas that will help them stay in business in difficult times. It just goes to show, you CAN make money in a successful business AND serve the community too, from corporate HQ serving their franchise owners to franchise owners serving their individual communities! Where focus goes, energy flows, and that applies to money flow as well.

A Smaller Example

On a personal level, this has worked for me as well. I had the wonderful opportunity to present a couple of free webinars for the wonderful folks at the Inland Empire Womens Business Center, and in doing so I gained some lovely new clients who wanted more of what they saw when I was presenting. Another win-win!

Book a Brainstorming Session for How to Thrive in Changing Times

If you would like some consulting on how you can adapt your business and services so you can not just survive but thrive in times of change, hit up my online scheduler here, or contact me via FB Messenger to schedule your awesome brainstorming session!