Business Education

The Biggest Pros and Cons of Strategic Partnerships

A strategic partnership can provide a number of advantages to just about any size business. In fact, it’s the reason that some multinational corporations team up together. Even though they have vast resources of their own, there are often specific tools, appeal to a certain base, experienced skill sets, and more which simply make it more advantageous to partner than do it on their own. Small businesses can likewise benefit from strategic partnerships much in the same way. However, just because there are some distinct advantages doesn’t mean these are always the best choice.

Biggest Downsides of a Strategic Partnership

There are drawbacks to entering into a strategic partnership. For instance, you must rely on this particular partner to carry out some responsibilities. How, when, and where should obviously be agreed on beforehand. But, this doesn’t necessarily mean it will all go according to plan. Then, there’s the matter of putting your reputation in the hands of another company. If you rely on your strategic partner to represent your business in any way publicly, you are obviously putting a great deal of trust and faith that they will execute accordingly and bolster your company’s name rather than tarnish it.

One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is trying to do everything alone. To combat this error, business owners must hire and train the right employees. In addition, they should leverage strategic partners. So what is a strategic partner? A strategic partner is another business with whom you enter into an agreement that aims to help both of you achieve more success. —Forbes.com

There is also the possibility that your strategic partner doesn’t truly possess the means and resources you think it does. In other words, you might have to put far more into the relationship than you get out of it. Of course, that would pretty much defeat the entire purpose of teaming up in the first place. Lastly, your strategic partner might be put in a position where they must decide between their own self-interest and their shared interest with your company — you likely know which they will ultimately choose.

Biggest Advantages of a Strategic Partnership

Of course, strategic partnerships aren’t always bad or no businesses would ever team up together. There are some compelling advantages to partnering with another company. Here are some of the biggest benefits of entering into a strategic partnership:

More resources. The single biggest benefit is usually almost instant access to a greater amount of resources. By partnering with another business, you’re essentially expanding your own team and reaching more customers nearly immediately.
More versatility. A strategic partnership can also bring with it various skill sets and experiences. Instead of having to seek out individual talent and spend time and effort to bring these things on board from within your own company, you already have an established organization to help your business grow.
Different perspective. Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of having a strategic partner is having another set of eyes and ears to examine situations. Rather than having to rely on just your own judgment, past experiences, and biases, you’ll have someone that has their own interest (and therefore yours too) at heart, which can be extremely beneficial in various sets of circumstances.

What other pros and cons of strategic partnerships should be included? Please take a brief moment to leave a comment and share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your strategies. Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

Like this article?

The Pros and Cons of Hiring Remote Workers

May 17, 2019 No Comments

Hiring remote contractors or employees, like anything else, has its pros and cons. It’s a difficult decision, particularly if you haven’t done it before. When you need more hands on deck, you might wonder if it’s really necessary to bring in a full-time person into the workplace. With all it entails, it’s a big leap, no matter how many times you’ve done it before. So, what about hiring someone to work remotely? What are the pros and cons of hiring remote employees? Let’s take a quick look. Remote Staff Cons Hiring remotely can mean having to make a few adjustments, including time differences. You might find a great fit in a candidate who lives in another time zone. Sometimes, even an hour or two can make a huge difference. Hiring remote employees can be an efficient and cost-effective way to solve problems for small businesses. For many business owners, knowing the benefits of remote hires can open up a variety of benefits, from cost savings to efficiency. —On Deck.com Another possible stumbling stone is communications. Yes, today’s technology makes it far more easy to communicate over just about any distance. But, it still has it limitations, no question at all. Then, there’s the challenge of training. This might well prove the most difficult obstacle to hiring a remote employee or contractor. Remote Employee Pros Of course, there are some very good reasons to hire a remote staff member. Here are a few benefits to hiring a remote worker: Reduced cost. This can’t be understated. When you hire remotely — especially for a contract position — you’ll get the benefit of saving money on labor. A remote contractor can save money in the form of health care and other benefits. Plus, remote contractors might accept a little less in the way of compensation for their own convenience of not having to commute. Skill-set access. Sometimes, it’s just too costly to hunt down the right person with a needed skill-set in your location. (That person might not even be available or live in your area.) In situations like these, needing a particular set of skills, a remote employee could be a great fit. Time advantages. What works one way can work another. Someone who lives in a time zone that’s a couple or few hours ahead of you can serve as a big benefit to getting a head start. He or she can produce what’s needed and do so before you even get into the office. Less office drama. One thing most people don’t think about when it comes to the benefits of hiring remotely is that it doesn’t add to any office politics. Someone who isn’t physically on-site won’t feed into the gossip, which is another advantage. What other points would you add to these? Please share your thoughts and experiences by commenting! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

3 Effective Ways to Beat Zoom Fatigue

August 21, 2021 No Comments

Family businesses generally operate a bit differently than traditional companies. While many aspects are the same or similar, odd situations occur more often in family businesses. And, that’s due to the fact it’s family and not “strangers” that are part of the day-to-day operations. So, common things in regular business arrangements might be quite different than in a family business. For example, employee compensation. Some family businesses neglect to give their employees pay raises because they are members of the family. In other words, it’s not a common practice, because the business is run by a family, instead of unrelated individuals. Of course, the phenomenon of unconventionality is something that can easily be part of a family business, simply because all the individuals involved are related and feel an obligation and duty to the company. Family Business Fringe Benefits are Fine, but Not Compensation Replacements Some family businesses provide their employee relatives with certain fringe benefits. These might be things like extra flexibility with schedules. Or, extra time off for vacations with pay. It could even be things like a company credit card and/or a company vehicle. The job of operating a family-owned company is often grievously complicated by friction arising from rivalries involving a father and his son, brothers, or other family members who hold positions in the business, or at least derive income from it. Unless the principals face up to their feelings of hostility, the business will suffer and may even die. —Harvard Business Review While such perks are nice, they do not take the place of compensation. But, it isn’t at all uncommon for the family business head to see such fringe benefits as a replacement for compensation. Since their relative employees enjoy perks, they view this as some type of offset to a raise and reasonable pay. This can create very awkward and sometimes even toxic situations to arise. Moreover, if non-relatives are working in the company, who do receive bumps in pay periodically, this can lead to outright resentment. How to Talk about Pay Raises in a Family Business Needless to say, it is a very frustrating and even unfair position to be put into by the very business you so loyally serve. Worse still, is that the longer you let it go on, the more normalized it becomes. And that is definitely something you don’t want to happen. Here is some effective advice for approaching the subject about a raise in pay from your family business: Determine your actual value. This applies to every employee, and not just individuals working for family businesses. You need to know for certain what your worth is, based on real-world comparisons. Unfortunately, too many employees overestimate their value and therefore, ask too much from their employer. So, be sure to do your research in order to determine your actual value in the workplace, base on your skill sets, experience, position, and responsibilities. Understand the company’s financial position. Before you bring the subject up, be certain that you know the financial circumstances of the business at large. Don’t assume anything, particularly if you’re not regularly involved in the company’s finances. Guessing and vague ideas will only lead to trouble in one form or another. If you do not have a firm understanding of the business’s financial situation, it might make the entire exercise moot. Or, it could also cause you to become envious and greedy. Be calm, reasonable, polite, but firm. There’s no question that being in such a set of unfair circumstances will cause you to have any number of negative feelings. Remember these are counterproductive to your end goal. You will get much further by being respectful but firm and by engaging in a good-faith negotiation, rather than starting a family feud. If you let your negative emotions get the best of you, it will only lead to a bad outcome in the short term, and perhaps even ruin your relationship over the long term. What other suggestions do you have for such a peculiar and awkward situation? Please take a moment to share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your unique perspective! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

Accomplish Your Biggest Goals in Small Steps

May 16, 2017 No Comments

You’ve probably heard the way to eat an elephant is to take one bite at a time. In business this is fundamental because it decidedly identifies the road to success. This road, it should be well understood, isn’t an easy path and will have plenty of bumps along the way. These setbacks, or failures, are excellent parts of the learning curve and are typically more valuable than successes. Savvy entrepreneurs embrace this truth and use it in a strategic way. Some of the largest and oldest companies were born from simple ideas. These giants grew from obscurity, not because of all they offer, but because each accomplished a goal which made them instrumental to the world of commerce. In 1939, after many frustrating years, inventor Charles Goodyear discovered the process of vulcanization. Though the legendary achievement is etched in history, the backstory is quite telling. Goodyear spent years trying to turn his concept into reality. He went dead broke and into extreme debt, yet endured and persisted on one single goal. How to Accomplish Your Biggest Goals in Small Steps Of course not every entrepreneur suffers such extreme adversity. It’s true that the majority of businesses do experience fits and starts but overcome and go on to achieve enough to turn a respectable profit. The way this happens is through a series of phases which include periodic cycles of failures. These aren’t due to lack of motivation, not being smart or talented enough, but the result of trying to accomplish too many things at once. When people set out to begin a major work project or adopt a healthier lifestyle, it’s easy to become discouraged when picturing the long road ahead. By the same token, even smaller-scale plans like keeping a medical appointment or a standing date to the gym can become easily derailed by the busyness of our daily lives or a simple aversion to the doctor or the treadmill. —The Wharton School Let’s get back to how to eat an elephant. The key to tackling any big goal is to do so in a smart and workable manner. Though most people understand reaching a goal takes time, their enthusiasm causes over-reach and that’s when things start to go wrong. You just can’t do six things at once and expect to master all of them. Too many directions, which is to say too many projects, is a recipe for failure. So, the key to success is the opposite — do one thing at a time. Here’s how to accomplish your biggest goal in small steps: Set a big goal to reach. The first step is to set a realistic goal. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming big but these can be too large to reach before feeling discouraged. One of the reasons entrepreneurs achieve success is they have a vision that’s focused and workable. Identify a realistic path to take. Another component to achieving your big goal is to map out a realistic path to take. Break the process down into phases —these don’t have to include every possible detail or include all contingencies. Martin Luther King remarked on this when he said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Start with one small, incremental step. You’ve probably heard different adages about the first step being the hardest. It’s true and to feel a sense of accomplishment while building momentum, the first step ought to be small. Take a moment to reflect the accomplishment. After each incremental step or phase is complete, take time to reflect on your accomplishment. The sense of pride is inspiring, and it reinforces your self confidence. With every step and phase completion, you can look toward your ultimate goal but stay focused on the here and now. This will help to motivate you and it’s a great way to appreciate your hard work. As a side note, it would be an honor to help out my LinkedIn connections with their business. At minimum, I’d love to connect and be in touch. We can do this by you signing up & getting my Top 5 Business Tips each month; and it’s free! May Your Business Succeed Beyond Your Dreams! ~Best, John Waters Want to find out about what a business coach can do for you? [shareaholic app=”follow_buttons” id=”26833294″]