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The Usual Studio's Charlee Sully explains how sharing trees can be a way forward.
Business partnerships have long been the template for long-term business growth. But could small businesses, sole traders and freelancers benefit from a partnership in the earlier stages of their development and growth?
If you run a small business, pairing up with another like-minded company is one way to move your business forward. A business partnership doesn’t have to mean owning part of each others business. It could be a simple arrangement to pool resources. For example if you both have a new product or service to promote, you could hold a joint event, networking session or product launch, sharing the cost equally between you.
You could take it further and share advertising costs (and trees) with a double-sided leaflet promoting both companies. Other benefits of partnerships can include referrals; working collaboratively and sharing industry information.
So, where can you find a suitable company to partner yours? Think about your current contacts, do you know anyone who runs a business who may be open to the idea? Or perhaps you will meet them next time you go Networking. Networking is a great way to make new contacts, and even if the person you are speaking to is not the right kind of company, its worth mentioning you are looking for a partnership, they may know someone who would be perfect.
For example - if you are a photographer and looking to break into the wedding market, try contacting wedding planners, florists or stationery designers. Think of businesses, which are likely to be on a similar scale to yours in terms of size and reputation, think about what you can offer them in return. Could you photograph their work in return for free flowers at your next photoshoot? Direct competitors and more established businesses in your sector should not be ruled out either. Provided you have complimentary services, the relationship could prove mutually beneficial.
The important thing to establish from the beginning is trust, honesty and a clear agreement. You may wish to consult your solicitor or a legal expert to draw up an agreement, making sure everything is legally watertight.
Once you have a partnership in place, meet regularly, share ideas and information, be as helpful as possible to the other business. Good deeds have a habit of paying off in the long term.
Charlee Sully is a freelance designer and runs The Usual Studio, an ideas-led graphic design and communication studio. Charlee is happy to hear from any prospective partners who are interested in working together.
Photo credit: Panama Business and Investment by
thinkpanama
Never underestimate the importance of passion, says MTB guest blogger Ed Hart.
A client of mine was thinking about starting a business, and asked me how big an overdraft she needed to ask her bank for. After talking through her plans, we agreed that the overdraft was a safety net, not a requirement and that, ideally, she ought not to make arrangements to borrow money she didn’t need.
I have been very lucky to work with a number of entrepreneurs and business owners. If I had to identify a common characteristic, it is a determination to succeed. Not necessarily financially, but in getting their product, service, or message, out there. It never seems to matter how much they have, their passion to succeed leads them to find innovative and unusual ways to achieve their goals.
Passion is a form of currency. To illustrate this, I can remember presenting to a bank for a significant loan to support a business. On paper, the business was in trouble. It was losing money, it was losing staff, and it had issues with its governance. What it did have was a charismatic leader who could convey a tangible sense of passion to succeed. Failure simply wasn’t an option. The bank was convinced, and the loan was granted.
If passion is a form of currency, then starting with little cash is no bar to success. The ideal combination is a sound business plan, presented with passion.
Ed Hart is a freelance Finance Director, who can by email on
edhart@yourfbs.co.uk, 07913 895798 or via his website:
www.yourfbs.co.uk
Photo credit: IMG_1648 by
Neil Wykes
A seasoned networker, MTB guest blogger Ed Hart offers a strategic approach to the often scary business networking.
For a number of reasons, I decided to visit a networking event just outside Nottingham recently. Having overcome my fear of walking into a room of people I didn’t know some time ago, I was really looking forward to going. Apart from the hope that I might meet the one person who could unlock all my businesses potential (unlikely!), I was looking forward to expanding my contacts, and to learning about what was going on (in business terms anyway) in the area.
I have a theory about networking. It’s a bit like big game hunting in Africa. Some people run around like headless chickens, shooting anything that moves, and some things that just look like they might be a target. Some people wander around aimlessly, hoping that they will eventually find what they are looking for. Some hunters just stay where they are, waiting for their prey to pass by.
I have chosen a slightly more scientific approach: I have thought long and hard about what kind of animals I am after, worked out where they go to drink, and have camped there. I know that sooner or later they will come to me. It does mean that some meetings I attend are fruitless, but at least I know I will meet some interesting people while I’m waiting!
Networking can be a hard slog, and there is never a guarantee that you will meet the person you want to meet. But by carefully targeting the groups you visit, you can greatly improve the chances of meeting the right person.
Ed Hart is a freelance Finance Director. Ed provides support for you and your business; first by understanding what you are trying to achieve, and then by helping you to become effective and efficient. Ed can be contacted on 07913 895798, by email on
edhart@yourfbs.co.uk, or via his website:
www.yourfbs.co.uk
They are young, confident, affluent and success driven. Could the recession present opportunities for young female entrepreneurs?
The subject of female entrepreneurship has become quite trendy recently. I am quite struck by this, since women have always been a part of enterprise and often supported the opposite sex in any business venture. Moreover, the word ‘business woman’ has been known all over the world for decades and just recently it has been ‘upgraded’ to the next level, the female entrepreneur.
I wrote this blog because I am inspired by famous women entrepreneurs who made their ideas come to life regardless of their less than ideal circumstances or simple willingness to get out of the kitchen and create something different than an apple pie.
Inspiring Female Entrepreneurs
I was looking at what Mary Kay Ash, Anita Roddick, Debbi Fields and Oprah Winfrey have achieved. And their achievements are numerous; from popular TV shows, through wondrous cosmetic products to delicious chocolate chip cookies. All of the above entrepreneurs however, have something in common; they proved to the world that it was possible to be a successful businesswoman in a world dominated by men!
Definitions
But what does the term ‘entrepreneur’ exactly mean? According to D. Kirby (the author of Entrepreneurship) an entrepreneur is ‘an individual who establishes and manages a business for the principle purposes of profit and growth. The entrepreneur is characterised principally by innovative behaviour and will employ strategic management practices in the business.’
Opportunities and BHB
Strangely the recession might also provide opportunities for budding female entrepreneurs. According to Margaret Manning, founder of the Reading Room , one of the top digital agencies in the UK, the economic downturn is going to create a lot more entrepreneurs as people lose their jobs, and 50% of those are going to be women. She also adds, “Research has shown that when a woman loses her job, she doesn’t lose her sense of self-identity as much as men do”. In other words, women are more likely to pick themselves up, get on with it and create something really successful.
She also adds that there are three key things that every female entrepreneur should know (known as ‘BHB’):
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Believe in yourself – The right mindset is the number one factor of success in business and in life
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Have a support system – You can’t do it alone! Learn to enjoy the collaborative effort of what others add to the process of building your business
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Be of service – Focus on creating long-term meaningful relationships with your customers.
After talking to several female entrepreneurs who have set themselves up in the Birmingham area, I realised that most of them actually see recession as the best time to open a business, even viewing it as more of a challenge. Also, some of them recognised the importance of using social media in their business strategies; setting up new Facebook groups and twittering regularly became equally important.
A Few Questions to Ask
Finally, if a female entrepreneur has ‘BHB’ and a good social media strategy, is she then pushed or pulled into her business? Is it because of the current economic situation that a woman is forced to look for a better job? Or does she simply look for new challenges and better opportunities to fulfil her entrepreneurial skills in a new business venture?
Photo credit: Businesswomen Adjusting Necktie and Makeup by
Christoph Wilhelm/zefa/Corbis.
Dominika Jankowska
Last night’s Screen WM/Creative Networks Platform Alternation event with Lord Puttman covered some interesting, if wide-ranging ground.
The event was split into a fascinating keynote lecture by the Oscar winning former filmmaker, behind film such as Chariots of Fire, Midnight Express and Local Hero, followed by a panel discussion with games industry representatives. The broad remit of sectors and topics naturally gave the two hour event a slightly unwieldy feel, although one which naturally suited the remit of ‘convergence’ between different industries.
For anyone interested in having a look at my archive of live micro-blogging during the event/struggle to maintain an active Internet connection; have a gander at the Media Talent Bank twitter feed or the #platform hashtag. If that means nothing to you, don’t worry, you probably have a life.
Spur for Creativity
Puttman’s talk focused on a number of issues surrounding his desire to see film and media as a way of ‘avoiding creating a generation with no sense of narrative of their own lives.’ The function of film to politically and emotionally educate a population was all the more resonant given the relative success of the far-right British National Party and UK Independence Party in the UK’s recent European and Local Council Elections, Puttman argued.
His focus then turned to relaxing copyright restriction on film archives and his desire for copyright free protocols for film archives to act as ‘a spur for creativity’ for a new generation. This, he reasoned, offered potential for ‘new and creative products’ across a broad range of platforms, including games, as a subtle means of political-historical education. Or to put it another way, the early principles of hip-hop with a cross-platform bent.
Education By Stealth
Onto the Games panel, this loose theme of media acting as a subtle means of cultural education with everything from Sim City to 1980’s cult favourite Elite cited as subtly broadening young people’s understanding of the world in which they live. ‘Education by stealth’, it was reasoned, was more successful and enjoyable for the player than explicitly educational games. Perhaps surprisingly given the region’s strength in the sector, how Serious Games fit into this conundrum wasn’t really raised by the panel.
The discussion then shifted towards the familiar topic of ‘convergence’ and how companies from different sectors should work together. The topic has been covered extensively by creative industry events in the Midlands of late, and although the benefits are obvious (closer cross-collaborations means for a stronger industry for everyone, etc, etc), some tangible examples of successful ‘converged’ projects on a small to medium scale would be far more valuable than the ever more familiar rhetoric from speakers.
Dave Allen
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