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Monday
Aug022010

7 Steps to Creating Great Business Partnerships – Part 1

DateMonday, August 2, 2010 at 2:42PM | AuthorBarri Carian | | | Print ArticlePrint Article |

Do you have a story of a bad partnership?

Many of us have heard horror stories of partnership disasters. Some of us have even experienced a painful breakup of a business partnership. The cost, both financial and emotional, has left many entrepreneurs vowing never again!

It has become increasingly difficult to achieve great success in today’s complex business environment by forging ahead on your own. Establishing some form of collaboration, whether it is a loose alliance, formal affiliation or legal partnership, adds tremendous value to the small business owner looking to create quantum leaps in company performance.

The challenge is hooking up with the right partner first, and then tackle the financial, legal and working details of the partnership. Most of us, however, tend not to look beyond the surface when selecting a partner. How many times have you heard “Oh, we’ll be great partners? She has the sales and marketing experience and I have the financial background. We complement each other and will make a great team.” While knowing your potential partner’s skills and functional expertise is important, it’s only the beginning of the selection process. Creating great partnerships requires doing your homework upfront and communicating with deep honesty and directness.

The following are two of the seven steps that can enhance your chances for success.

1. Do your due diligence. It’s not enough to say, “We get along well”. Do you share core values, vision and expectations for the company or project? Most fatal conflict will arise as a result of these unexplored areas. Unfortunately, this is the step many people either ignore or gloss over because they are uncomfortable asking these questions, take answers at face value without in-depth probing, or are just too vested in the outcome of selecting a particular person as a partner.

2. Establish roles and responsibilities. Fortunately, we usually team up with someone who has complementary skills. Understanding our differences as strengths and recognizing weaknesses in ourselves and potential partner is a critical early step. Defining roles and responsibilities based on a candid assessment of these areas, allow partners to avoid ego issues, stepping on each other toes, duplicating efforts and giving mixed signals to the organization. This does not mean inflexible job descriptions. Boundaries can and should remain somewhat loose so the organization be fast and flexible.

What are some things you’ve done to select the right business partner?

Barri Carian

NewBusinessPartnership.com

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Tuesday
Jul202010

The 3 Major Steps of the Networking Process

DateTuesday, July 20, 2010 at 12:41PM | AuthorManal Richa | | | Print ArticlePrint Article |

I never thought that networking could take over my life the way it did.  For an introverted person, it turned out to be a fun and productive process.  I find myself thriving on building relationships and helping others.

Within the past two years, I discussed the topic of networking with multiple people and I received generous feedback from the attendees of my workshops and training sessions.  All this information helped me understand even more the networking process and how it works.  The following are three major steps of the networking process:

#1 Pre-Planning

This step includes anything and everything that you need to do prior to attending an event; starting with deciding if the event is a good fit for you or not; all the way into making sure that you have a goal to achieve.  There are hundreds of organizations and events going on around each city on a daily basis.  You can’t be involved in all of them.  You simply can’t spread yourself too thin.

Be selective about the events. Find out who is going to be there and how it might be beneficial for you.  Call the event organizer, if necessary, and find answers to your questions so that you are ready!

Decide on who you want to meet and who you want to re-connect with. 

Make sure you have plenty of business cards and a memorable Elevator Pitch prepared.

Have a positive attitude and a Pay-it-Forward mentality.

#2 Etiquette

During the event, your first goal should be to meet the people you have in mind.  It is always a good idea to arrive early and leave late.

Acting as the host might be a good ice breaker and might help you connect with new people.  For those of us with an introverted personality, approaching strangers is a challenge.  So standing at the door, with a welcoming attitude, might help you meet new people and provide help at the same time.

When it comes to business cards and taking notes, develop a strategy or a system that work best for you.  Make it an easy process by figuring out steps to facilitate the interaction with others.  Know where your business cards on your body or in your purse.  Know where you put the new business cards you collect… make sure they are separated from yours. You don’t want to be handing out somebody else’s card.

Carry a small notepad and a pen all the time.  Use it to take notes and at the same time share with others who might need a pen or a piece of paper.

When talking to others, be present and listen to what they have to say… Simply CONNECT with them! 

#3 Follow-ups

After you spend money and time to attend a specific event, you usually end up with a bunch of business cards and promises to connect with the new people you met.  Deliver on that promise and make your best to connect with them within 24 – 48 hours after you meet.  Send them an email or give them a call.  If they have a preference, make sure that you make note of that preference and respect it as well. 

If you promised to email information, contact, resources… again, make sure you deliver on that promise and come through by emailing the promised information.

The point behind it all is really to find out what works for you and how you can build new relationships while having a process that makes it easy for you and your connections.

The three major steps of the networking process are very essential when it comes to being successful and seeing results.  One common mistake that was being noticed, is that networkers tend to skip one of the major steps or even drop the ball during the process.  For successful results, it is recommended that you cover all three steps, one step at a time… and slowly watch ROI on your networking efforts.

Now it is YOUR turn – Can you share some tips that help you through your networking process?

Manal Richa

The MarCom Network – Communications, Branding & Advertising Solutions
Follow me on Twitter
Join our Fan Page on Facebook

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Monday
Jun282010

AT-A-BOYS (Follow Up)

DateMonday, June 28, 2010 at 8:31PM | AuthorCiaran Foley | | | Print ArticlePrint Article |

Virginia's Post got me thinking a lot about how entrepreneurs and business owners treat their employees. Along the same lines as Virginia's post, check out this fascinating examination of what REALLY motivates your employees/co-workers. You might be surprised.

 

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Wednesday
Jun232010

At-A-Boys

DateWednesday, June 23, 2010 at 11:12AM | AuthorVirginia Lorimor | | | Print ArticlePrint Article |

Last night, I took a walk on San Clemente beach. It was beautiful. I noticed a young couple playing with their small child on the swings. They were praising their child for pumping her legs to make the swing move and I suddenly realized something. When, as an adult, are we praised or thanked for the little things? When we truly and freely had out words of complement to others for their effort it can be a powerful tool. How, you ask – let’s look?

Customers

How do you thank your customers? With a bill? In my office, we’ve even taken to hand writing, “Thank you, Customer Name” on our invoices. That is not much of a thank you. What else can or should we do?

  • Thank them for large orders with a gift that takes their likes/dislikes into account
  • Remember their birthday (there are affordable automated services that can do this)
  • Call them at least once a month and ask about them (not their business)

This exceeds your customers’ expectations and they will tell a friend about your business!

Employees

A paycheck is not thanks enough! Tell them when they have gone beyond the call of duty. Treat them as you would want to be treated (don’t have them at work when they are deathly ill, let them go home early the day before a holiday, treat them with respect). Acknowledge a job well done. Encourage creativity and a little fun!

Vendors

Build relationships with vendors. You will find that your terms will improve; they may be willing to consolidate accounts, drop rates, and go above and beyond for you. This can be difficult in the days of automated phone systems, but take the time to speak to a person with authority when you have issues or need terms extended. Don’t run from collection calls – take the bull by the horns and work together for a solution. Thanks them and watch the results!

At-a-Boys work with everyone when they are SINCERE, HONEST, and GIVEN FREELY!

Virginia Lorimor, CPA

Chief Excellence Officer

WIN Business GermiNATION, INC.

OC’s Premier Business Incubation (coming soon to Manhattan Beach)

www.WINopp.com

Customer Service, Business, Vendor, Credit, Collections, Employees, Management

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Monday
May242010

Kindergarten Financing

DateMonday, May 24, 2010 at 9:28PM | AuthorVirginia Lorimor | | | Print ArticlePrint Article |

Kindergarten Financing

According to Robert Fulghum and his bestselling book “All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten,” I should have learned how to finance a start up business in kindergarten – when I learned to share everything, play fair, and not to hit people (well, 2 out of 3’s not bad)! However, if you think about it, we innately do things as children that we stop doing as adults (e.g. being completely and totally honest once we learn the repercussions). So let’s look at our childhood financing savvy and an example of how to apply it to business:

 Trade

  •  I have a PB&J for lunch and my friend has California rolls and I love sushi and we trade.
  •  Swap services of equal value with colleagues to save money and to be able to provide each other with testimonials (and beta tests).

Barter or Negotiate

  • When trading baseball cards sometimes it isn’t one to one (a rookie Mickey Mantel isn’t the same as a Mickey Mouse).
  • Offer services to another business in exchange for future benefits like (Warning: make sure you get it in writing first!):
    • Guaranteed Future Contract
    • Equity Position
    • Percentage of Proceeds (Joint Venture)
    • Commission

Reuse

  • Most unsupervised kindergartners will pick gum up off the ground and chew it and make toys out of the box the toy came in before they play with the toy. They are the champions of reuse.
  • Reuse in a business can come in many different forms:
    • Being green by buying second-hand and reusing or recycling
    • Working co-operatively and synergistically within and between teams
    • Creating processes and systems that are effective to reuse each month to make smart decisions (both financially and operationally)

Forgo

  • If we didn’t have it when we were kids we did without and generally were happy because we didn’t know any better. Necessity is and was the mother of all invention.
  • Ask yourself, is it a want or a need. The true basic needs of running a business are generally not that costly.

Always ask for advice! Most entrepreneurs make the same costly mistakes during their first years that cost them not only money but most importantly valuable time.

Virginia Lorimor, CPA

Chief Excellence Officer,

WIN Opportunities, Inc

www.WINopp.com

"OC's Premier Incubator - Supporting Start-Up Businesses in our Unique Business Co-Operative"

Trade, Barter, Negotiate, Reuse, Forgo, Finance, Start-up, Business, Bootstrapping

 

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