Partnering Up

Posted by Programming Mom at 27 April, 2007, 8:33 am

I love partnering up and working with others. Not only do you get a fresh perspective on your business, but you can move a lot further when you have others who are lending a hand.

Besides starting a partnership, there are three partnering up methods that I’ve personally used with success, and strongly recommend for any Mompreneur who wants to grow her business: joint ventures, virtual assistance, and reselling.

  1. Joint Ventures - As Mompreneurs, we wear a lot of different hats, but we can’t be expected to do everything solo. Combining efforts with another Mompreneur adds to our product lines or services, and enables us to increase our markets. Plus it increases motivation – there’s something very empowering about working as a team vs. by yourself.If you’re as lucky as I am to have found others that you work well with and who have complimentary but non-competing skills or products, a joint venture is a perfect way to grow your business without putting in more work.
  2. Virtual Assistants – When I first started thinking that I needed help with my business, my biggest concern was finances. I had no idea how I was going to pay someone for help when I wasn’t exactly rolling in the dough. But I knew I had to do it for my own well being.The funny thing is, my productivity and motivation increased so much after I outsourced Sherri (another Mompreneur!) for support that I was able to complete more projects and get more additions done. Now I don’t have to be on the computer for twelve to fourteen hours a day, so when I am on, it means I’m fresher and can focus much better. Of course, I really lucked out – to say Sherri is the best is an understatement! But having help really does make a difference.
  3. Reselling – I know where my abilities lie, and I know those areas that are not my strengths. I love programming, thinking up ideas and troubleshooting, and enjoy customer service. I am not good at marketing or design type work though. So I decided a few years back to decrease my costs and sell directly to web designers. I sell the base script to the web designers, who add their own design and styles, install it onto their clients’ sites, and sell it to them under their own brand.I can’t stress enough how this type of B2B sales can help a small company! Everyone wins. I make less per script, but my support questions decrease (one reseller with 100 clients means I get one support question vs. 100), and I don’t need to worry as much about marketing. My resellers win because they are profiting from my scripts, and are able to provide their clients with a much-needed service. The clients still pay the same amount as if they would have purchased it directly from me, but now they have a backing of two companies with different skill sets, which helps when problems or questions arise.

    If you sell products, consider selling wholesale to other moms who then sell to their own clients. If you offer services, think about other companies that could use your services, and sell to them so they can offer those services to their clients. It really is a great way to broaden your customer base and sales!

Again, partnering up makes a huge difference to a Mompreneur. Remember, we can’t do it all alone. We need a little help too! Consider working with other Mompreneurs on projects or even in sub businesses, and you might find that a team environment makes for that much-needed boost to your bottom line.

Susan

Category : Programming Mom