Gift Basket Business Blog

The Unexpected Income Fund

March 28th, 2009 at 05:55pm Lorie Obernauer

Recently, I learned about creating an “unexpected income fund” and using this to give to others. “Unexpected income” might include small gifts: being taken out to lunch by friend, winning $2 on my lottery ticket, or getting a coupon for a discount at my favorite restaurant. It might come in the form of a really big surprise: getting an invitation to join friends at their vacation home because their family decided not to go or receiving a tax refund when you didn’t expect anything.

Regardless of the size of the gift, take some percentage of the value and give it away. If you didn’t receive the gift in the form of cash, approximate how much it’s worth. Figure out what percentage you want to give away, collect the money in a jar, then give it to your favorite charity or a friend in need.

So you might be asking: what’s the point? The idea is that the more you give away, the more will come back to you. That’s just the way the universe works.

Now, I was a bit dubious. So I decided to try it and see what would happen. A friend took me to lunch and I put $2 in my jar (my meal had cost her $20). Another friend treated me to a movie, popcorn and a drink. So another $2 went into went into my money jar. The person who grooms my dog offered me three “free grooms” because she wanted to use my dog as a model in an upcoming dog show. At $45 a pop, I socked $13 into the money jar. Then I took the $17 I collected and donated it to a local food bank.

Then things started to roll. I got a $50 credit at my favorite clothing store due some mix-ups on a special order that had occurred last fall. (The store had already fixed the problem; this was something extra.) A friend got me a free membership to a local art museum…something I wanted, but had decided that I didn’t “need” the charge on my credit card. Adding this to some other gifts that have come my way, my favorite charity got another $50. And I’m continuing to receive gifts…and continuing to give to others.

The most interesting thing about this is that I never realized how abundant my life is and never thought about the small gifts that I receive. This realization in itself, has made the whole effort worthwhile. And of course, I feel great about about helping others.

Then I got to thinking that if this works for me personally, maybe it can work for our businesses. Every once in a while, we get an order from a customer who hasn’t been in touch for years. Or the company that prints our catalogs “throws in” the overage that was printed by mistake. Why not take this “unexpected income” and give it to our favorite charity. Maybe the ball will starting roll for you too!

Entry Filed under: Business Tips