Business is changing and with so many companies setting up within a tiny niche in the market, more and more business owners are looking for ways to work together. Creating a sort of business ecosystem is the best way for all the individual businesses to thrive without having to compete with each other for the same clients.
Outsourcing is at the heart of every good business relationship. Whether you are outsourcing functions like IT, HR and legal business or you are outsourcing projects and roles more central to your business such as production, how you work together is often about give and take.
But building such an ecosystem isn’t as simple as shaking hands and moving on. Just as all relationships require work, so too do inter-business relationships. Managing the way you work together, what your expectations are and who can join the team is a really important part of day to day business.
Being an entrepreneur is a learning curve and building a business ecosystem is one of the greatest challenges you are likely to face. Here are a few things for you to think about before you embark on creating your own ecosystem.
Thoroughly Research Your Business Partnership Options
When you are looking for a company to join your network, you should think about what you can do for them as well as what they can do for you. This is important because you want to ensure that there is a bit of balance between you. A service that goes only one way isn’t networking so much as it is buying a service.
Looking at a lot of different businesses can be quite overwhelming but you should always check their case studies when evaluating a potential support partner. The reason for this is that while case studies are obviously biased (you never read case studies where a business lays out why they totally failed!) what they do show is how a company works, what sort of solutions they provide and what sort of clients they have already worked with. Reading case studies will also give you a much better way to compare and contrast with other companies since many companies will offer broadly the same set of services.
If you are happy with a business but want a bit more information, it is always worth setting up a meeting to get a more personalized view of what they could do for your business. Whether you decide to go for an informal lunch to discuss options or you request a more formal meeting where they pitch an idea to you, this should be about seeing whether you will get on well or not. Do beware though, interviews always go both ways whether it is between an employer and candidate or business to business.
Bring Businesses Together and Collaborate
When everyone is rushing towards the finish line, it is easy to be selfish. But the simple truth is that if you work together as a team, everyone can reach their goals without having to trip one another up along the way. Collaboration might be a buzzword right now, but it is certainly a pertinent one.
To collaborate with other businesses successfully, you all need to be working to the same – or at least a similar – goal. Just as any team should be made up of a diverse group of people, your collaborative group should also be diverse with each member bringing a different skill set and way of thinking. The film industry is a great example of this sort of collaboration as it often takes several different companies to achieve even the most modest film.
But bringing businesses together just for your benefit on a project isn’t enough. You also need to be prepared to help others achieve their goal. In the most simple terms, you might say ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’. Even though you are helping another business to achieve their goal, you should also use the process to learn and develop your own skills. Every opportunity is a chance to show off your capabilities so don’t be put off if you have to wait a little longer for your own project to come through.
Networking and Hosting Events
As a business owner, you should always be on the lookout for new talent to join your team but you should also look for businesses to join your network. This is why networking is so important. Not only should you be meeting lots of other business owners, but your employees should also be encouraged to make contacts of their own. While this might feel risky (what if another company tempts them to move), the reality is that the greater your network is cumulatively, the better chances your business has.
Finding regular networking events to go to is a great idea and listing them in a company calendar for employees to sign up for should boost your representative numbers to some extent. Do be aware that some people may need a little more support when it comes to networking than others. Offering training sessions might sound ridiculous but if you want everyone to stick to the same company lines about values this is probably a smart move. Sometimes a few simple survival tools are all they need to get going!
Though going to events is a nice and easy thing to do, you should also consider hosting your own. You actually don’t have to do a lot to put on a successful networking event and the most basic ‘meet up for a drink’ style events are often the most successful. If your office is big enough and in a fairly central location, you might consider using it as a base for your event but don’t worry if it turns out that booking an event space or bar turns out to be a lot easier. Most places will let you put up a few branded banners and decorate the place as you wish.
Stay in Touch
When you get new clients and customers, one of the first things you think about is how you can remind them that your business exists in order to draw them back to spend more money. In a sense, you need to be doing this with the people you meet and the businesses you partner. Even a quick email once a week to say hi could be enough to jog their memory and bring you a little closer together. The only problem is that reaching out all of a sudden can feel a bit weird for both parties.
Here we can honestly thank goodness for social media as it is the perfect platform for gently keeping in touch without coming across as over-eager or just a bit creepy. LinkedIn and Twitter are ideal for little nudges such as liking posts or adding a comment. Another good tip is to be reasonably persistent. Even if someone ignores the first message, don’t let it put you off, just change tack and try another way to reach out.
As you build your network, some people will undoubtedly be more useful than others. These people are the ones who you tend to speak to often and can even get leads and generate revenue for you. But even though others might seem less ‘valuable’ don’t simply brush them away. Treat everyone you meet with the same respect and kindness and even if you don’t benefit for several years, you never know what might happen. When you are open to options, you are more likely to win.
