When you hold business events, do you involve the local community or partner with another business or a service group?
The Navan Fine Arts Exhibition & Sale has involved the local community in its annual show for the last five years. This year’s event included the local public school to showcase students’ artworks, the Navan Women’s Institute to promote its programs and their upcoming garden and art tour, the Lions Club who helped us with set-up, and our local costume designer who added fun to both days of our show. And we partners with the local spa, Country Moments, who contacted us about holding their Open House the same weekend as our show. What a great idea as we helped promote each other’s events, tapping into new markets, and giving even more reasons for visitors to spend the day in Navan. Visibility and promotion for all the groups mentioned here was heightened, plus each group helped spread the word about our sale.
The benefits I have mentioned above are obvious. Here are a few other benefits. I’m sure there are others I have not thought of.
Create cross-promotional exchanges
Create unique opportunities
Boost advertising, reach a potential new audience, maximize reach
Showcase your products or services through community partners
Engage the community – this brings about good feelings and makes a town feel special and proud
Strengthen community relationships – this mostly happens in the planning phase – bonds are developed. The payoff is a more successful event
Tap into collective knowledge and skills
Many community partnerships are long lasting and this helping of each other definitely goes a long way to creating positive environments and successful events. The payoff has tremendous potential.
Spring is a time for new growth and planning for harvest time!
Planting flowers to enjoy all season long, brings us joy and happiness, as does the experiences we share with family and friends which we are planning for throughout the summer months. What about all those wonderful vegetables to enjoy that taste much fresher than what we purchase at the local grocery store? They are healthier, have much more flavor and cost less as well when we grow them ourselves. What will you be harvesting this fall, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, potatoes? The list goes on and on, just think of the money you will save! Just think!
YES that is right! Time to think about where you invest your money and time is very important to get great results. Success is always in the planning, whether it’s planning a garden or planning for your retirement. It is one of the keys to your success. Building your retirement plan begins now! Wealthy, successful people save 10% of every dollar earned. Teaching children to do this is the creation of a healthy success habit and one that can begin at any age.
Planning can be difficult if you do not know where you are at. So let's focus on becoming more aware of our money habits. Here are 3 things to reflect on daily:
How much do you want to earn?
What are you doing at the present time to increase your income now?
How much are you planning to be worth at the age of 65?
Jim Rohn's mentor Earl Shoaff said "Profits are better than wages". Working at a job to generate investment dollars in building a business will help generate more profits. Making an investment in yourself will always add value to what you have to offer as well. Continuing to learn and grow yourself so that you can harvest much more is another success habit of the wealthy. Begin today by monitoring your income and your expenses daily to ensure you are aware of what profits you have to invest. Jump on the Success Express by beginning to keep track today and plan for a bountiful harvest!!!
TopKeys to Successful Collaboration
By Renée Gendron MA
Every undertaking has its risks. Collaboration enables businesses to seek out complementary organisations to increase the chance of the project’s success. It can also accelerate the development of an idea, improve on its design and execution, and foster long term mutually beneficial relationships.
Here are some key points to consider when thinking about collaborating:
Mutual interests: who else is curious about the matter, is potentially willing to become involved and benefits from seeing the idea come to fruition?
Tip: Be prepared to shop your idea around in various forms.
Overall direction: When seeking out partners, also ensure that the proposed idea aligns with the direction the other company wants to take. A project might be a good fit for them now but your idea might not fit into their 4-7 year plan.
Tip: Ask questions about the vision and direction of your potential partner’s company. What market segment are they currently in and where do they see themselves in a few years’ time?
Audience: So you’ve got a great idea, a wonderful partner that shares a similar perspective in where they want to take their company and willingness on their part to cooperate. Does your undertaking speak to your existing audience and your collaborator’s existing market? If not, are you able and willing to adjust your sales and marketing strategy to reflect this new market segment? Is your partner willing to reorient their communication channels to do so?
Tip: Test an idea’s receptivity on your existing market segment. Is it the idea or how it’s being communicated that doesn’t mesh with your market segment? Have your partner do the same. Sometimes you have the make the decision to walk away from a business idea because it doesn’t fit with your existing strategy or model. In such cases consider starting a separate entity to develop the idea for a different niche.
Rights, responsibilities and intellectual property: Before any work gets done, no matter how small or large the project is, it’s crucial to have clear roles and responsibilities with your partner. It’s always better to have these kinds of conversations before the project gets started when there’s good communication, good faith and a willingness to engage in dialogue.
Tip: Before the project begins discuss the following things: decision-making process, resource allocation, intellectual property rights, when to call it quits, what to do in case of a conflict, how much of a priority is this undertaking for you and for your partner – what does it mean in real terms if this is your top priority and only the twentieth priority for your partner? Is this the right partner for you? Be very specific on the deliverables, who does what when. Discuss alternative strategies and contingency plans if the first attempt doesn’t succeed. How do you renegotiate the strategy or goal mid-project when you hit a snag? Once these matters are discussed and agreed upon, put it in a contract.
Project and Organisational Culture: So at this point you’ve got a clear idea of what you want to achieve, a good understanding with your partner as to how it fits with both of your companies’ medium and long term strategies, and it’s clear that your existing market segments are interested in the project. Great work! Now the question is can you actually work with your partner? Each organisation has its own unique way of conducting business. Some organisations are extremely formal and top-down; others are more informal and adopt a more egalitarian approach to management. If casual Fridays at your work place means sandals and beach shorts, and for your partner it means ties are not required, this difference in organisational culture may cause conflicts and problems as you jointly execute the project.
Tip: Before beginning work, ask questions about process and culture. Conduct a few meetings to see how well the team meshes or not. Discuss internal decision-making processes in each organisation: are they comparable or radically different? Consider soft-skills training before your undertaking begins to help team cohesion.
