SENSSE

Join Us:

Don’t forget Monday November 15th at 6:30 PM is the Business SENSSE Meet and Greet event. It’s a chance for solo and microbusinesses to connect, share their experiences, learn how to improve their businesses, find ways to collaborate and in general – thrive in this current economy.

All our Community Business Guide (CBGs) will be there.

Register online by clicking the box to the right on this page

We’re creating a new kind of small business community with three key differences.

1. We’re focused on solo and micro sized organizations
2. There are no big or scary commitments, no quotas, no mandatory attendance.
3. We interested in having fun while learning how to learn more and help each other.  Participation and interactivity are strongly encouraged.
   

Smart Partnerships:

In preparation for the meeting, I’ve been listening to and reading more on Smart Partnering by Kare Anderson. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Kare, she’s a business and communications consultant and blogger, who’s been showing small businesses how to team up together to multiply their strengths and amplify their exposure in viral, publicity-friendly ways.

Any example of a micro businesses working together always gets my attention but ones that boost their local economy, get extra points and the ones that promote local artists get extra special, secret, double bonus points. Here’s an example from Kare.

A small gift shop owner in a scenic, Canadian resort town (Victoria, BC), partnered with a pack and ship center and local craftspeople to create a unique destination for tourists and a new profit center for herself.

The craftspeople supplied their works to the fulfillment house and a sample piece for her to display on a special wall in her small (but well located) flower and gift shop.

Customers coming in for a bouquet or card would see the display wall and often end up placing an order based on the samples showcased.

She’d collect the money, fax a sheet of the days orders to the fulfillment center where the designated item(s) would be boxed and shipped out.

She took a smaller percentage than normal (30% instead of the usual 50%) but didn’t have to stock anything beyond a showcased sample, or handle any of the shipping tasks. Later on she added an online store to capture more repeat business.

A few years later, this side-niche accounts for 60% of her sales and 70% of her profits and has built her a reputation as the “got-to-see-it” shop on every tourists guide’s list.

Besides improving her income (without a large investment of money or time) she’s become a gallery of sorts to showcase her town’s local artists and gave them a new source of income and recognition.

DWYL friend and graphic designer, Alison Biggs told me about an interesting partnership she’s forged with business and portrait photographer Suzanne Larocque.

In brief, Suzanne snaps a series of scenic pictures and Alison crafts them into a unique and exquisite calendar.

They split the costs to have them printed and gift boxed then present to their clients at holiday time. All of which gives their clients a beautiful and memorable gift they can use.

While Alison and Suzanne might be perfectly happy with their current collaboration, I couldn’t help but play with some of the concepts in the book.

Who else could join in on such a partnership? A printer would seem likely but Kare also encourages looking for unexpected partners.

Could the end result, a gift for clients also be marketed as a revenue producing product of its own?  Last year the images were from all over the world. This year it’s iconic places in the valley. Might the theme of the calendar’s photos indicate potential partners or buyers?

Do you have any examples of partnerships or collaborations you’ve done with other businesses?

Small Business Summit:

Speaking of collaboration, there’s a “Resilient Businesses Small Business Summit” scheduled (10am to 3pm) on November 13th at Holyoke Community College’s Kittredge Center .

WHAT: Resilient Businesses Small Business Summit

WHEN: November 13, 2010, 10am-3pm

WHERE: Holyoke Community College Kittredge Center

REGISTER: talk.resilientbusinesses.com

FEE: $25 per attendee – includes coffee, refreshments & lunch

Organizers Rich Roth, CEO of TnR Global and Karen Ribeiro, Summit Director tell me it’s based on the un-conference design, where small business owners are invited to participate in an active dialogue centered around creating and sustaining Resilient Small Businesses in western Massachusetts.

The topics will range from economic stability, current and future policies, best practices, to program support.

Roth says “The needs of Small Businesses are not fully understood by federal organizations and policy-makers. And yet, Small Businesses are at the heart of our economy. They create a majority of new jobs and employ over half of the workforce. We need to bridge the gap between them and their support systems.”

I wholeheartedly agree and will do everything I can to make it. It’s sounds like it could be quite exciting.

DON’T EAT LUNCH ALONE (DELA)

Don’t forget to mark the 1st and 3rd Thursdays on your calendar for DELA. Each one I’ve been to has had great conversations, good networking opportunities and some choice laughs.

WHAT: Casual networking over your own brown bag lunch

WHEN: 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month @ 12:00 noon

NEXT LUNCH: November 4th

WHERE: South Congregational Church (45 Maple Street in Springfield)

PARKING: Lot in the far back of the building.