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It’s no secret that it takes a village to build a successful small business. One way to help ensure your village is well-connected and helping you grow is to partner with local organizations.
Building relationships in business can help accelerate company growth while you build a deeper connection between your brand and community. Many small-business owners find that partnering with local organizations can offer numerous advantages.
“Collaborating with local groups has notably increased our visibility, helping us reach a broader audience and establish a more robust presence in the community,” says Ashley Wainwright, director of internal operations at Go Mini’s, a moving and portable storage company.
“Partnering has significantly boosted our brand recognition and allowed us to share resources and contacts, which have been instrumental in the natural growth and expansion of our business,” continues Wainwright. “Most importantly, these collaborations have created a synergistic environment where we can leverage each other's strengths and support one another's causes.”
Benefits of Partnering With Local Organizations
When you’re looking at how to expand your business, the benefits of partnering with local organizations can be exponential, agrees Tenyse Williams, a digital marketing adjunct instructor specialist at the University of Central Florida, Columbia, and George Washington University and founder of the digital marketing agency Verified Consulting. Williams has secured successful partnerships for businesses such as the New York City restaurant VeganHood, and the nonprofit for inner city youth they support.
“Partnering with local organizations offers a constellation of benefits for small businesses,” says Williams. “Doing so dramatically increases visibility and expands reach, as these partnerships often lead to new and diverse audience exposure. Sharing resources can also result in reduced costs and increased efficiency, while access to community support strengthens the business's local ties, enhancing brand loyalty among residents.”
Additional benefits of partnering with local organizations include building credibility, notes Zachary Jonas, founder at Jonas Consulting Group. “The business you partner with essentially communicates they vetted your company and that you’re a good partner for them, so their customers should try you, too,” he says.
Katherine Webster is founder and CEO of VetsinTech, which assists veterans with re-integration services. She has found partnering with organizations to be transformative for her company.
"Collaborations have amplified our impact in ways we couldn't have achieved alone,” says Webster. “For instance, our advocacy has encouraged the local chambers of commerce to start tracking veteran-owned businesses, a crucial step in recognizing their economic contributions. We've also successfully pushed for local preference for veteran-owned businesses in government contracts.”
How to Help Identify Potential Local Organizations for Partnerships
Of course, not every local organization makes for a good partnership. There are considerations for identifying the best options.
“The key to successful partnership lies in seeking out entities with aligned values, goals, and audiences,” says Williams. “For VeganHood, I looked for organizations passionate about community health, wellness, and youth empowerment. It's also crucial to evaluate the potential partner's commitment to collaboration and their ability to complement your offerings.”
“Consider that with any partnership, you’re also lending your name and credibility. While you’re not responsible for everything the other business does, by partnering with them you do endorse them.” —Zachary Jonas, founder, Jonas Consulting Group
Aligning with organizations that share your business values and goals takes strategic consideration, according to Sophia Fifner, president and CEO of Columbus Metropolitan Club, a nonprofit organization of nearly 250 corporate members focused on fostering social connections.
Match the core values of your company when you partner with a local organization or nonprofit, says Fifner. “A law firm might align with organizations advocating for social justice.”
Choose Partnerships Carefully
Making the decision to partner with a local organization should not be made lightly, adds Jonas. “Consider that with any partnership, you’re also lending your name and credibility. While you’re not responsible for everything the other business does, by partnering with them you do endorse them.”
Lucie Voves, CEO and founder of Church Hill Classics, which handcrafts officially licensed frames for colleges and universities, honor societies, professional associations, and the U.S. Military, agrees.
“We have licensing agreements with thousands of academic institutions and the military and hold an annual college scholarship contest, so we are very careful about the partnerships we forge,” says Voves. “We ensure the companies we partner with are family-friendly [...] and are in alignment with our corporate code of ethics.”
When researching organizations that would make a good fit for a partnership, also consider if you can share resources, such as customer base, data sets, and financial resources, notes Jonas.
And look for companies with similarities, advises Samantha Swan, founder of Cottage Lane Kitchen, which creates and sells spicy relish. “I try to find a common thread, whether it be the product, quality, reach, number of social media followers, or email subscribers,” she says.
Rachel Cederbaum, founder of Gold Signature Writers, a tutoring service, suggests finding ideal partnership prospects by identifying organizations where your target audience can be found. “I collaborated with a local pickleball facility to offer a learning/movement class and pickleball lessons, because moms love pickleball and they are my client base,” she says.
Cederbaum has also partnered with organizations to hold expert panel discussions revolving around student learning challenges, such as strategies to alleviate back-to-school anxiety and student and parent burnout. “These creative partnerships have become regular referral sources, allowing me to grow from a solopreneur to managing a team of 60 educators,” she says.
Community Outreach Ideas for Small Business
When it comes to collaboration opportunities, there are many possibilities for small-business owners to explore, including cohosting events and cross promotions.
Williams focused on events when she developed VeganHood’s partnerships, including with hip hop artist Styles P and his plant-based foods nonprofit Farma Cares.
“We organized vegan dine-in nights, press conferences, and live cooking demos,” says Williams. “These events extended VeganHood’s reach and engaged varied audiences in unique, memorable ways. Cross-promotion through social media, co-created content, and shared publicity efforts further maximized our outreach, ensuring a win-win situation for all involved.”
Webster has also successfully capitalized on creating events when forming partnerships, such as the company’s Vets in AI event and initiative. “By collaborating with the Bay Area Council and industry leaders, we've created a unique platform that trains veterans and military spouses in cutting-edge AI technologies and positions them as key players in shaping AI policy and national security,” she says.
Building Relationships in Business With Cross Promotions
Cross promotions also offer a wide variety of collaboration opportunities. For Women's History Month in 2023, Swan of Cottage Lane Kitchen spearheaded a giveaway with 12 other women-owned food products businesses in her state.
“We all offered a giveaway, which gained us new social media followers, as well as enticed our local business journal to write a piece about the power of our collective,” says Swan. “It was a win-win for all involved and required minimal effort, as we all shared, promoted, and worked together.”
Voves participates in cross promotions with college bookstores, which in turn promotes her diploma frames. “We help bookstores host their grad fair events, ensuring seniors get all their commencement essentials,” she says. “Curating ‘all-in-one’ grad gift bundles with our highly profitable diploma frames drives in-store traffic, rings up sales, and moves store inventory.”
Community outreach ideas for small business when it comes to cross promotion can also involve the use of your company’s facilities.
“At Go Mini’s, we've provided storage for Habitat for Humanity’s building materials during kick-off events and offered space for local churches during clothing drives and food collections,” says Wainwright. “We also support farmers' markets and local races by providing storage for event materials.”
In return, the organizations they assist feature Wainwright’s company in their marketing materials and on social media. “When it comes time for people to choose a portable storage company, this helps us stand out against our competition,” she says.
Basic Practices for Maintaining Healthy Partnerships
For partnerships to work when building relationships in business, it can be imperative that both parties benefit. This can be accomplished by taking into consideration some basic practices.
- Try to ensure alignment in mission and values.
- Establish clear, measurable goals, expectations, and responsibilities from the beginning.
- Maintain clear communication and regularly review your partnership goals to keep the relationship healthy and mutually beneficial.
- Be respectful, responsible, and follow through on all commitments.
- Be open to feedback.
- Celebrate shared successes and acknowledge each other’s contributions.
- Actively engage by participating in events and promotions when possible.
- Explore new collaboration opportunities to keep things fresh.
"Authenticity is also crucial to good partnerships," says Fifner. "Ensure your charitable contributions align with your philanthropic goals and are not solely driven by business objectives. Transparency and genuine care for the missions you support will resonate with consumers."
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