How To Build Community With Your Business | The Bottom Line by Square

Rooted in Community: Support Your Neighborhood With Your Business

The neighborhood is not just where your business is located, it’s the community that makes it thrive. When you go beyond just selling and start giving back to help others, your business will be supported in return. Whether you're just starting out or running an established company, connecting with your community can drive sustainable growth, customer loyalty, and positive social impact. Here you’ll find expert advice and stories from real business owners like yourself on how they grew their businesses while fostering community connections, nurturing neighborhood relationships, and supporting their customers and staff.

Featured

5 Ways to Have a Positive Impact on Your Community

by Square

Aug 07, 2019 — 2 min read

Small businesses are an important part of communities. Here are a few tips to make sure you have a positive impact on yours.

Growing Your Team

3 Ways New York City Employers Retain and Empower Their Teams

by Shaye Weaver

Sep 05, 2025 — 4 min read

Staff turnover is costly. NYC business owners are fighting it with care, community, and career growth. Here's how.

Operating Your Business

Destapas — How Destapas Grew a Community-Backed Tapas Business in San Francisco’s Mission

by Maya Rollings

Aug 14, 2025 — 3 min read

Destapas is a customer favorite in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood. Growing the business from 20 customers a day to over 200 a day has been intentional balance of culture and community for co-owners Raul Aguilera and Luis Raga. Dive into their growth journey.

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Operating Your Business

Swamp Rabbit Café & Grocery — How Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery Built a Local Food Movement

by Chidinma Nnamani

Jul 31, 2025 — 4 min read

From a 1,200-square-foot building run by first-time shop owners to a bustling community hub supporting 400 local producers, Swamp Rabbit Café & Grocery started with a clear vision and grew with purpose.

Reaching Customers

Smart Tech, Local Touch: Scaling Service That Feels Personal

by Chidinma Nnamani

Jul 03, 2025 — 6 min read

Here's how three expanding businesses, Bluestone Lane, The Epicurean Trader, and Roaming Goat, use Square’s tech to keep operations smooth while preserving the warm, personalized feel of a local third place.

Managing Your Finances

No. 25 Community, Culture, and Cash Flow: TK Tunchez Shares Tips for Growing Your Business

by Aja Evans, Square

Jun 20, 2025 — 5 min read

TK Tunchez turned Las Ofrendas into a flourishing brand — and now she’s paying it forward by empowering BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs through financial education and community support. Learn how tools like Square Loans and instant deposits helped her scale.

Reaching Customers

Local Support Led to National Acclaim at Nixta Taqueria: Here’s How You Can Uplift Your Community

by Sara Mardanbigi

Jun 18, 2025 — 5 min read

Honest storytelling, putting the team first, and cooking for neighbors in need helped turn Nixta Taqueria into a go-to spot in East Austin. Here's how you can weave your own business into the fabric of its community.

Reaching Customers

10 Creative Event Ideas To Grow Revenue and Build Community

by Chidinma Nnamani

Jun 17, 2025 — 7 min read

From hands-on workshops to cause-driven pop-ups, local businesses are turning events into powerful tools for growth and connection. Here’s how you can bring the same energy to your space, no matter your size or setup.

Reaching Customers

The Third Place: How Local Businesses Are Building Belonging

by Chidinma Nnamani

Jun 16, 2025 — 7 min read

Discover how visionary entrepreneurs across the U.S. are transforming restaurants, bookstores, and shops into vibrant "third places" — inclusive community hubs where authentic connections flourish, memories are made, and the atmosphere is as vital as the service.

Operating Your Business

No. 3 Ritual Coffee Roasters’ Secret to 20 Years of Growth: Staying Unapologetically San Francisco

by Square, Ramzi Budayr

Jun 12, 2025 — 4 min read

Dolores Deluxe owner Ramzi Budayr sits down with Ritual Coffee founder Eileen Rinaldi to explore how authenticity, community, and intentional growth have shaped one of San Francisco’s most beloved coffee brands.

Operating Your Business

No. 1 Finding Neighborhood Market-Fit: How One Owner Revitalized a 100-Year Old SF Corner Store

by Square, Ramzi Budayr

Jun 02, 2025 — 4 min read

Discover how one entrepreneur used Craigslist, old building records, and community feedback to design a retail experience that just clicks.

Operating Your Business

Charles Pan-Fried Chicken — How Two Chefs Revived a Harlem Gem and Expanded Across NYC

by Maya Rollings

May 28, 2025 — 4 min read

Learn how Chef Quie Slobert and Chef Charles Gabriel rebuilt Charles Pan-Fried Chicken, expanding to multiple locations while prioritizing community and using technology.

No. 22 Using Personal Touches to Build Customer Trust (and Boost Sales)

by Keila Hill-Trawick, Aja Evans

Dec 06, 2024 — 6 min read

Discover how Due South, a family-owned lifestyle boutique in Lafayette, Colorado, creates a unique shopping experience with personal touches and community involvement. Learn about their customer loyalty strategies and how they balance relationships and business growth, all while navigating financial challenges with expert insights.

Episode 4 Can Community Make or Break a Business?

Apr 18, 2024 — 9 min read

Is building a community around your business essential to entrepreneurial success? Maria Ramos (The Beauty Plug by Maria) and Jennifer Febre (Macleod Ale) swap stories of facing and conquering the trials of entrepreneurship and what they learned by building a thriving community around their business.

Reaching Customers

How Hi-Lo Liquor Market Builds Community and Brand Loyalists

by Alena Courtney

Mar 11, 2024 — 6 min read

Consumers want to support their local establishments and feel like they're part of something special while doing it. But as a business, becoming a local gem takes authenticity — mixed with a bit of brand strategy.

Reaching Customers

#1 How MudFire Is Increasing Access in the Ceramics Community

by Kira Deutch

Nov 16, 2023 — 5 min read

Deklan Ranlett will never let MudFire’s community ethos disappear. Learn how setting up an online store and embracing tools like appointment scheduling software has given Ranlett the space to focus on their mission.

Related collections

Around the Corner: Atlanta Edition

Around the Corner: Atlanta Edition is your guide to thriving in Atlanta's local business community. From restaurant owners in Midtown to makers in East Atlanta Village, discover how entrepreneurs connect with customers, grow their businesses, and uplift their neighborhoods.

Around the Corner: New York City Edition

Meet the business owners, employees, and customers who keep the five boroughs thriving. Around the Corner: New York City Edition is your NYC neighborhood business guide, showcasing inspiring local business success stories from Manhattan's Upper West Side to Harlem, Queens, Brooklyn and beyond. This collection highlights real-life lessons from local entrepreneurs on what it takes to operate in the city, stand out, and build community.

Around the Corner: San Francisco Edition

Real stories. Hyperlocal data. Community-first advice. Welcome to Around the Corner: San Francisco Edition—your neighborhood business guide. Here you'll meet the owners, staff, and customers who shape the city. Explore insights from North Beach, the Mission, the Outer Sunset, and the blocks in between. Discover how local entrepreneurs market their business. Learn how they grow alongside the community and, of course, where they like to eat after a long shift.

Rooted in Community: Support Your Neighborhood With Your Business

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