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Going Solo And Staying Competitive
We've been talking a lot this week about the value of virtual expansion. You can grow your business by strategically aligning your work with other small firms. While covering the benefits and tips, we've focused on the impact these partnerships can have on your business.
In short, expandability can help profitability.
But there also are some intangibles. Today, we'll touch on benefits often missed by solo practitioners.
Yes, your strategic alliances can go beyond helping you get business. They also help you manage your current business.
Often, many one- or two-person companies face a common risk. Working for yourself from home can create isolation. It may make you long for deeper resources. Sometimes, there's value in just having another head to bounce around great ideas.
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TOP SHELF TIP NO. 41
"One man may hit the mark, another blunder; but heed not these distinctions. Only from the alliance of the one, working with and through the other, are great things born."
Antoine de Saint-Exupery, a French pilot, writer and author of The Little Prince | |
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That's how you get more value from your virtual expansion partners. You can use these people to make your business bigger than life without adding payroll, capital expenses or other problems that can be associated with large staffs.
In turn, you will improve your business, and help your friend.
Consider these points.
Never Eat Lunch Alone
It's always been a great networking cliché. But it's more than a cliché because there really is great value in spending time with the people on your virtual expansion team. The time spent over lunch helps evolve your relationship. It lets you know each other and discuss approaches to selling.
Cultivate A Sounding Board
Because you and your aligned companies are seeking mutually rewarding opportunities, you can use each other as sounding boards. Bounce ideas. Seek advice. Ask questions. I find it incredibly valuable when I call one of my partners and ask, "What would you do in this situation?" Because we're working toward the same goal, there is honest input, valuable feedback and genuine idea sharing. This approach takes you out of the vacuum of working alone and helps you grow your business.
Work It All The Time
You can't just call a potential partner on a Monday and offer to jointly pitch a new prospect. You've got to cultivate the relationship. You need to talk often and understand what each partner offers. Otherwise, the ancillary business is nothing more than a vendor supporting you. There's nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't give you the power of virtual expansion.
Rehearse. Rehearse. Rehearse Again
I recently was involved in a new business pitch that we lost. In that case, I was providing the virtual expansion for the PR firm pitching an account. We were proud of our pitch and confidently discussed our capabilities, background and portfolio. However, even though my firm and my virtual partner have worked together many times for many years, we didn't anticipate questions about business agreements between our two firms. Our answer was unrehearsed. It was fumbled, and we didn't get the work.
Share Business Resources
Whether your virtual partner is down the hall or across the country, there are many ways to share resources that save you money and research time. For example, I subscribe to media databases that support our client work when it comes to public relations. One of my virtual partners taps into this business intelligence, sharing my capabilities. She gives her clients the knowledge and takes advantage of my data. The shared resource benefits my firm, her firm and our mutual clients without requiring us to both pay for the same databases.
Having worked on my own for 12 years, I know isolation is a factor every solo-practitioner must fight. You've got to forge alliances that help you brainstorm, sell and collaborate.
This sharing approach can make your business stronger and let you take advantage of opportunities that require more depth than you can provide alone.
Source: Roger A. Shapiro is president/creative director at Mitchell Rose, LLC, A Communications Consultancy. He is the author of Write Right, 26 Tips to Improve Your Writing. Dramatically. | |
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