|
|
| Small Business Information |
|
||
|
|
Who Makes the BEST Alliance
What types of companies do you want to align yourself with? What is the best company to align with? It is a company that does not quite compete with your core business. By this we mean that the company has offerings that dovetail into what you have to offer. If you were selling tire rims, then you would likely want to form an alliance with a company that sells tires. The relationship would work for both companies. Even though you are in the same industry, you both have a different focus. By forming an alliance, you both win. So how do you find such companies? First, you will need to determine what your core business is, and second, what other business would be beneficial for you to offer without taking away from your core. Once you discover the type of business you want to align with, you must do research to see if they already have such alliances with your competition. Also some companies are not interested in alliances and want to have an open field for other components that dovetail into their business. You must make sure that when you find a good potential alliance, you approach them with well-researched facts. You must be able to show how it will benefit them as well as you. Alliances are like partnerships, both parties need to have everything in writing, including expectations. There also needs to be trust on both sides before the agreement is entered into. Do not pick any company and go from there, do your research first. When you think about it, many alliances are formed, but few ever work well without doing research. It is likely you will call this type of relationship a Channel Partner, or dealer. Even though these names seem familiar, each has its own unique expectations. When looking for an alliance with another company, you should make sure you look in the right places. Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people's attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the "Networking Queen". Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Are You Ready to Own and Operate a Business? How often has someone thought of starting a business based solely on the fact they think it will be easier than working for someone else. Fact is, owning and operating a business can be one of the most grueling experiences you will have. Granted, there are many advantages, but unless someone has actually run a business there is much to consider before you make that decision. Comparing Boston Area for a mobile car wash business The Boston suburbs seem to be rich with possible locations to wash cars and a mobile car wash would be well served in that market. The customers have good jobs, high paying salaries and indeed demand such personal car washing services. They desire these services at home and at work. The economy is strong and many high paying jobs exist there. Housing and growth in the real estate of single family dwellings is still up sharply in the subs: Collaborative Negotiating: A Win-Win Strategy COLLABORATIVE NEGOTIATING: Build Credibility with Expertise As an Investment Representative you've worked hard to build trust with your pension clients. Now, you can solidify that long term relationship with your expertise on one of the greatest fears of small business retirement plan sponsors. Encouraging Your Customers to Pay On Time Nothing can drive a business down faster than customers who don't pay their bills as agreed. When you sell to customers on credit you are making an agreement with them. You will provide them with goods or services in exchange for their payment within the terms you agree upon. Period. The Responsibility Conundrum - Where art Thou? Mr/Ms, 'not me' is often on holidays in your business. Yes come rain or shine they attend the workplace and put in the day for you; coffee to drink, gossip to catch up on, spying on management and colleagues, frequent toilet breaks, long lunches, long phone calls and let not forget the email needs to be checked and replied. Off course the home business needs more customers so a few phone calls here and there are quite appropriate so they think! Launching your Business with a Chamber of Commerce Why are Chambers a good launching pad? Starting A Concrete Cleaning Pressure Washer Business Concrete cleaning can be a lucrative business to start. Here are some tips which will help you do it right. Site Selection - Slice of Life, A Car Wash and Detail Center DownTown There is a continual trend we are seeing which I can remember participating in over a decade ago, when cities were trying to figure out how to increase sales tax revenues when the large box stores outside of town came into nearby or surrounding areas. For instance a big and easy example would be Wal-Mart. Sam was smart and built his stores just outside of town near towns, which drew from neighboring towns of 5,000 or more from three to five directions. If you look at an over lay of Wal-Mart stores to an atlas of that state you will see the rural America can get anything they need at the best price without driving all that far. Write An Effective Job Proposal I am simply amazed at the problems some of my colleagues are experiencing regarding writing job proposals for customers. So often I hear that there has been some sort of disagreement between client and service provider, something that can and should be avoided before a project is started. Here are four tips to help you write an effective job proposal letter. A Lesson From ?The Apprentice? That Can Make You A Master I have to admit, I was curious. When I saw previews of a new show called "The Apprentice," it made me want to at least watch the premiere to see what was going on. Immediately, I was hooked. The whole idea of candidates - from all walks of life, not just college grads fresh from their commencement ceremonies - vying for a position in one of Donald Trump's organizations piqued my interest. What kept my interest were the real-life advertising lessons every business owner needs to be reminded of. Batting Cages Business - Making Profits With The Swing Of A Bat There is a Batting Cages Business for those people who love baseball and/or softball. This business will make you a profit and will help raise the self-esteem of the children who come to your facility. Batting Cage complexes are popping up all over the world. Small Business Support Equals Survival Support is critical for your small business survival. You may shy away from the thought of having an advisory board to guide you through your rough spots, but having a group of professionals who are willing to be your sounding board can mean the difference between success and failure. Franchise Company Operations Manual Sample Outline Many companies wish to expand and a few wish to use franchising as a method of expansion. Not a bad idea, but one must consider the importance of the fine details. One book I recommend you read is the "E-Myth" by Gerber it is available at all the usual places. You see when going from a small business to a franchise company it is important to make sure you take out all the mistakes you have made in the past in building your small business and insure that your future franchisees never make those mistakes themselves. After all they need not go thru the rigorous minefields and brick walls you had to in order to be successful. Especially considering you will most likely be charging them a substantial upfront franchise fee. Pressure Washing of Paving Equipment and The EPA Many pressure washing companies will be glad to take on additional work when a company calls them up to come and wash, but the days of cleaning asphalt compactors, steamrollers, paving equipment with diesel fuel are gone forever. If you are caught doing it the old fashioned way it's a $1,000 fines in the United States, fist offense and you pay for cleanup. The second offense is $10,000 and one year in jail and you pay for cleanup, in August of 1999 Newfoundland became the last place in North America to outlaw washing out asphalt dump trucks and paving equipment. It is now illegal every in the US and Canada to hose down paving equipment in this manner. This is because one gallon of Diesel fuel can pollute one million gallons of fresh drinking water about the allowable limits for safe potable water supplies. Small Business Savvy: Reaching Key Big Business Decision Makers As a solo entrepreneur or small business owner, one of our key challenges can be reaching key decision makers in larger companies. Getting to the right person who can seal the deal can be a frustrating experience, especially if you don't have a game plan. Here are three ways to connect with the right people. How Disabled Veterans Can Win Government Contracts The Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) is a program that allows small businesses to self-certify as service-disabled veteran-owned businesses providing them increased opportunities to win government contracts. Significantly and permanently impaired veterans may be assisted in the daily business operations by a spouse or permanent caregiver. Government Does Not Pay Its Bills on Time Many small companies work very hard to get new accounts. Occasionally they try to get government contracts to supply products or services. Some small business people believe this will help them in case of recession, because the government has to keep going no matter what. They therefore seek a contract as a protection security blanket and guaranteed income to pay their own bills, make payroll and have the cash flow they need to survive at a time when over regulation and hostile litigation is taking its toll on small businesses. Street Wars Between Mobile Car Washers and Mobile Auto Detailers There is much competition in the mobile auto detailing business. There are two different lines of reasoning emerging as to how the business should be run. One is go for volume and discount and wash the world. The other is go after the high end customer which is 10% of the market, do exceptional work and charge as much as the market will give. These two principles are the reason for a war between mobile auto detailers and mobile car washes. Mobile car wash companies are often seen washing the Honda car for the single mom in an office complex. While the auto detailers would not touch the car unless she was a total babe and they thought they might get a date out of it. Making Your Product Desirable For Alliance Partners How do you make sure you have the business solutions or services that your alliance partner needs?
|
