Spark An Idea Thursday: An Idea that Makes a New Business Ally

Sparkplugging is starting a new tradition called ‘Spark an Idea Thursday’.  Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers.  We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog!  If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

I love the fact that I work online. I started my business when I lived in Alaska and the convenience that working online offers is just what I needed. Working from home – by yourself – can get lonely at times. You can easily get trapped in your “bubble” and lose sight of what is going on in the rest of the world.

That’s why I recommend making a few business friends that you can brainstorm with, get feedback from, and if possible, meet in person and work on some projects together. I have met some great friends through my business.

If  you are feeling shy and aren’t sure how to reach out to a potential business friend, here are a few examples of how I met some of my business friends:

Start With An Email: Back in the fall of 2007, I was flipping through an issue of Bust and came across a cute ad from MadeByAmyD.com. I wrote the owner and told her I thought it was a really good ad. She wrote back and that’s where it all started. We began emailing back and forth; I invited her to be a guest on my podcast and we had a great time talking, so I asked her to co-host an episode with me… and well, long story short, we are still in regular contact. Some of the ladies from Handmade Detroit and I will be road tripping to Ohio in August to meet Amy and the Ohio Crafters in person. And it all started with an email!

They Don’t Call It Social Networking For Nothing: Social networking sites are a great place to make a new business ally. I’ve met a lot of people through these sites; some have become partners on projects, and others have been a huge asset in helping me promote my site. I recommend that at the very minimum, you set up a fan page for your business on Facebook and also set up a Twitter account.

Attend  Craft Shows, Conferences, And Other Events: Back in 2006 when MySpace was still all the rage, I came across the profile for Handmade Detroit, a group of crafters that promotes the indie craft movement in Detroit and the surrounding area. Now, I was living in Alaska, but I’ll always be a “Michigan Girl,” so I added them as a friend. One of the members, Beth Nixon, began reading my blog. When I announced that I was going to be the keynote speaker at an event in May 2008, she decided to drive up to Flint and attend.

We had a chance to talk at the event and our personalities jived. A couple months later we decided to meet for coffee. We didn’t do much business talking at that first meeting; we talked about our lives and realized how much we had in common. She invited me to attend a party the following week and I met the majority of the other Handmade Detroit crew. Indie Biz Chicks and HD  have struck up a great “business relationship” in the sense that we promote each other and I’ve made some really good friends.  So go to in person events when you can and don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation!

I hope these ideas gave you some inspiration for reaching out to other business owners and making some new “biz friends!”  Don’t forget to post your own ideas for making biz friends on your blog (and link back to this blog post) !!