by Vicki Salemi
If you think the only place beyond the boardroom to forge
fabulous business partnerships is the golf course, you're
dead wrong. Hear some offbeat stories of fantastic ways
profitable partnerships can be formed.
From Babyhood to Kindergarten
When Julie Dix met Danielle Ayotte at their children's
playgroup, the acquaintances had no inclination a booming
business would emerge. That was, before Julie decided to
capitalize on her toddler's cuddle-inclination toward
blanket tags and ribbon borders. When other moms in the
playgroup took an interest in the "taggie" blanket Julie
sewed for her daughter/son, she and Danielle decided to tag
team a business venture. The plan was simple: Julie would
sew and Danielle would sell.
In 1999, Taggies Inc. was born and like their children, has
grown considerably over the years from selling out local
craft fairs to international distribTech Schoolon throughout Canada,
Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Despite the company's
success, the two moms have always tried to maintain their
stay-at-home mom status.
"We've juggled kids and the business all the way," says
Danielle. "It makes us feel good how happy the Taggies make
our kids and we wanted to make other kids happy!" Thanks to
clever time management, which includes working around their
kids' schedules, they're both still immersed in day-to-day
operations of their 23-employee company and are looking
forward to years of continued success and friendship.
Eileen Spiltany and David Kravetz, co-founders of Fairytale
Brownies, an Arizona-based mail-order company specializing
in gourmet chocolate brownies, found their recipe for
success in the kindergarten classroom, so to speak. That's
where they met. After years of friendship, a simple
late-night baking session cooked up their career plans.
"We knew when we were in high school that someday we'd go
into business together," explains Eileen. They started
baking brownies late at night in a friend's catering kitchen
and decided it was their niche. Since 1992, the friends'
have been instrumental in Fairytale Brownies' signature
recipe for success -handcrafted batches made from Callebaut
dark Belgian chocolate, premium Grade AA butter, farm fresh
eggs, fluffy cake flour - and a "dash of magic!" As for the
kindergarten karma, their school photo is included on their
Website, www.brownies.com.
Bagging It
Stephanie Jo Klein found her inspiration not in a classroom,
but amongst her colleagues. As membership vice-president of
the Newswomen's Club of New York in 2003, Stephanie took
notice that their gift bags to specific events needed some
oomph. The remedy? Include fun goodies relevant to each
event. At the "So, You Want To Be a Critic?" panel, her gift
bags boasted Junior Mints and membership to Netflix.com. One
Newswomen's Club event led to another and a year later, the
journalist's creative volunteer work transformed itself into
Klein Creative Communications, a luxury gift bag marketing
firm that caters to charity, celebrity, and press events
giveways.
Stephanie attributes her business accomplishments to
networking savvy. "Success in any business is a result of
one person meeting another person meeting another person.
Knowing how to introduce yourself will take you very far."
Pumping Up Profits
Making an introduction was a golden opportunity for Jesse
Meli, president/CEO of The L.A. Studios, Inc., a dialogue
recording company that has worked on films like "Shrek" and
"Madagascar." In Jesse's case, however, it wasn't any ol'
introduction, it was one amidst barbells and weight benches.
During one of his daily workouts at Gold's Gym, Jesse
overheard producer Alex Johns talking to someone about "Ant
Bully," an animated feature he was currently working on.
Jesse muscled up some courage and approached Alex to talk
shop. "The key to being successful in this on-the-fly type
of networking," Jesse explains, "is being able to convert
opportunities as you see them." As a result of the gym
encounter, Alex selected Jesse's company to record the
dialogue for the film.
Andrea Nierenberg, author of "Nonstop Networking: How to
Improve Your Life, Luck and Career" (Capital Press, 2002),
agrees. "Every time you meet someone, two things happen: you
have the opportunity to learn from them or to be a
resource."
Virtual Networking
Networking is precisely how Intelligencias Research, a
company providing qualitative local market research to
Spanish-language media, was founded. For John Herron,
Clayton Williams, and Peter Tobin, however, the networking
was virtual. The trio met in Syracuse University's iMBA
distance learning program when they were required to take a
global entrepreneurship management class. Part of the
curriculum included discovering a market opportunity,
developing a business plan, and presenting results.
Their diverse backgrounds provided various insights to the
class project: Clayton is an Aussie living in the south with
a background in logistics, Peter is Canadian living in
Bermuda with a background in medical supply distribTech Schoolon,
and John is American with a background in newspaper
publishing.
By the end of the course, they felt so strongly about their
group project that Clayton and John formed a partnership and
Pete pledged to invest. "None of these opportunities would
have been possible if not for the iMBA program," says John.
Currently, the trio is busy scheduling angel investor
meetings so their business can take flight. "The people I
met have left an indelible impression in which I am forever
changed."
Crossing Old Bridges
Sometimes, it's former co-workers who leave lasting
impressions, ones professionals like John Mattera draw upon
years later. Though he had worked together with Steve Oleary
for years in document/office management sales, he lost touch
after they parted ways to pursue other opportunities.
When John called to check in on Steve a few years later, he
learned of Steve's latest endeavor, the founding of
BioSecurIT, a manufacturer serving high security
environments that employs voice, video, and integrated
biometrics. The timing couldn't have been better to hire
John as president, says Steve.
"The best part about working with someone from a previous
job is that you to know each other's skill set," he
explains. "[Something like that] is key in a small growing
business."
Business Nuptials
Talk about knowing your coworkers! For Doreen and Gary
Sullivan, such a feeling is reinforced by love. From the
moment they walked down the aisle, they vowed to love,
honor, and. work together.
"We definitely had aspirations to do something together,"
says Doreen who owned a consignment shop before starting a
family. So it's no surprise that business is booming at the
Sullivan's antique shop and eBay drop-off store, Once,
Twice, Sold! in Saddle River, NJ.
Along with Doreen's sister, brother-in-law, brother, and
father, they research the value of items, run auctions, ship
items, collect payment, and pay the originator a percentage
of the sale, like a virtual consignment store.
The benefit to teaming up with a spouse? "It's built-in
trust," Doreen explains. They each have a niche knowledge
base, too - sort of a "his and her" business sense. Doreen's
expertise is antiques, Gary's is trains, and - illustrating
that the entrepreneurial spirit is hereditary -- their two
children are sales pros in training. they sold lemonade at
their grand opening!
Whether you're parlaying volunteer skills into a fabulous
new venture or schmoozing it up at the gym, you never know
where business partnerships will emerge. Which is why
Nierenberg advises you to always be business-aware. "You
never know when the opportunity to help someone else may
come back to you."
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