Partnering: Your Recipe For SuccessI've always been a social butterfly. I love meeting new people, and when I connect with someone with whom I have a lot in common, I can chat them up for hours.The other day, my Pastor (with whom I have also been friends for 20 years so we chat quite a bit) forwarded me an email message from someone he thought I'd love to meet. He knows me so well .... Two days later, yesterday, my husband and I were sitting across a lunch table from a man named John Easton (http://www.eastonsweb.com).John and I have a lot in common. Not only are we both parents and entrepreneurs, but we love to spin around new ideas and concepts. Over lunch, John, my husband and I shared ideas, hopes, dreams, philosophies, success stories and failures. We only reluctantly dragged ourselves away when it was time to pick our kids up from school!!Lunch with John reminded me of the importance of collaborating and partnering with others. There are formal ways to do this, such as when you enter into a formal partnership or joint venture arrangement with another company. In those cases, every t has to be crossed and every i dotted because how the expenses and profits will be distributed must be addressed in a formal sense.But you can also partner in informal ways, and this what John and I have decided to do. We are working towards starting a bloggers network in Charlotte, NC. We have both experienced the power of blogging and what it can do for your business first-hand. John calls himself a "blogging evangelist." We are going to find a place to host the first meeting, put together an agenda and contact our NC blogging community (including a popular radio talk show host who just launched a blog through his NPR syndicated talk show -- always good to invite the press to your event!) and see what happens.Our goals?1. Gain positive exposure for our businesses, and perhaps new clients.2. Expose our activities to members of the press.3. Stir up the blogging community to new heights and new opportunities.4. Have a few refreshments, take some pictures and have fun!It's not formal, it took a few minutes to dream up and the possibilities are endless for our business and personal lives.What about you?Have you collaborated with anyone lately? There may be some people right here in this group who are in your hometown. The virtual world is great, but remember to reach out and touch people physically too. The physical and virtual worlds must intersect in your business if you are to have maximum impact.For more small business success tips, click and subscribe to http://www.indiebusinessblog.com.
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