How to Build a Profitable Business Through Strategic Partnerships.
When we grow up, we are often taught to work harder and put our nose to the grindstone. Effort, we are told, is the key determining factor in deciding if we will be a success or failure in life. We see these messages reflected in our early days in the corporate world, as we put in endless hours and always have a stack of projects that are behind schedule. As time goes by, though, we seldom see the rewards for extraordinary effort and instead we just find that we are becoming burnt out.
To escape the grind, some begin to dream of owning their own business. It’s appealing to think of charting your own course in life. As we reach for the entrepreneurial golden ring, though, we don’t realize that the same nose to the grindstone mantra is still deeply embedded within us. All too often our new business requires way too many hours and we’re swamped with everything there is to do. Perhaps it’s time we stepped out of the existing paradigm and looked at the situation with new eyes.
A New Approach to Building a Successful Venture
Let’s say you have been working in IT within an organization and have gotten really good at creating corporate websites. You might be tempted to create a company that does that work and hire lots of developers. That way you could produce site after site to make your money. Unfortunately, that’s still the nose to the grindstone model.
There is a better way to get ahead. If you are great at talking with clients and prospects and helping them dream up compelling websites, then just do that. Do the one thing you are great at and create strategic partnerships to do all the hard work. By partnering with a web development firm, you’ll have a much better quality of life and you’ll be able to scale your company up too.
Build a Strategic Relationship with an SEO Specialist
If you are creating websites for a variety of clients, one of the next things you need to add to your offerings is top-tier SEO services. The client web presence is just the first step. You also need to be sure that they come up high in the search rankings so their prospective customers can find them.
When you partner with an SEO specialist they will be able to handle every aspect of SEO for you and your client. They can identify keywords, take the steps necessary to assure a top of page ranking and grow the site traffic. You’ll have a complete team handling this instead of having to do it all yourself.
Create a Partnership with a Brilliant Graphic Artist
The next step you can take is to find a great graphic artist who can be part of your virtual team. Websites are lifeless without brilliant images and color, and a highly skilled graphic artist can make your customer’s web sites shine.
Their skills allow them to create images that will draw your client’s prospects and customers to the new site. They’ll also be able to use color and the perfect images to reinforce the client’s marketing messages on both the website and in marketing collateral.
If you want to build a successful business without working 60 hours a week, take a step back and create a new form of venture that fits today’s world. Building creative partnerships with web development, SEO and graphic arts players will let you focus on and leverage what you do best.