When Small Businesses Try to Attract Big Partners - NYTimes.com

Small-business owners often maximize their resources and extend their reach by teaming up with larger organizations. But to partner with a larger organization, they first have to get through to one. Alexandra Mayzler, who owns Thinking Caps Tutoring, is trying to do just that. She talked about the challenges of getting a foot in the door at the last She Owns It business group meeting.

To date, Thinking Caps has tutored students individually. But Ms. Mayzler is now planning to offer her study skills program in a class format as well. She?d like to begin by holding classes at organizations like the YMCA or the JCC. She?s also thought about working with large companies to offer classes to employees who are interested in learning how to help their children study. But finding ?a human? to connect with at these organizations, she said, has been difficult.

?I don?t know if I?m approaching it incorrectly, maybe I?m not aggressive enough,? she said. ?I understand that it takes forever to get back on this kind of stuff because there are layers of people but it?s just ??

?How to get into the organizations,? said Deirdre Lord, who owns the Megawatt Hour.

?The only other option is for us to set up shop and say, ?Okay, we?re renting a classroom, here?s the classroom? ? just advertise it,? Ms. Mayzler said. But that?s expensive.

?I would think at least one of your clients would have some relationships at the JCC or Y,? Ms. Lord said. An introduction from the right person can make things so much easier, she added.

Jessica Johnson, who owns Johnson Security Bureau, said Ms. Mayzler needs ?a superhero advocate that can go in and sit in the boardroom and say, ?Look, we need to bring Thinking Caps on as a partner.??

Ms. Mayzler considered this. ?So identify those places and basically look for individuals on the board?? she asked.

?Look on the boards, go above the people that are in the actual locations,? Ms. Johnson said. ?A board member can give you much more leverage and actually take you to the people that make the decisions.?

?That?s a good idea,? said Beth Shaw, who owns YogaFit.

?Let them advocate for you,? added Ms. Johnson. Ms. Lord agreed.

Ms. Mayzler wondered if she needed a dedicated person on staff to pursue these partnerships.

?You don?t even need that,? Ms. Johnson said. Instead, she suggested Ms. Mayzler make a plan and break it into manageable pieces. ?Then it won?t seem so overwhelming,? she added. For example, if the Y is her target, she could give herself six months to win it.

?It takes a long time to win these big organizations, though, believe me,? Ms. Shaw said.

?Let me tell you, I grew my business 700 percent in the last three years ? not on my own,? Ms. Johnson said. Rather, she said, ?I had people advocating for me, like people that I don?t even know. They look at me, and they?re like, ?I want to make you successful.??

?Right,? Ms. Lord said.

?There?s a way that you can make this happen ? sometimes all it takes is one person,? Ms. Johnson said. She recommended that Ms. Mayzler set aside five minutes every three days. One day, she might send a handwritten letter. Three days later, she could follow up with an e-mail. And three days after that, perhaps a phone call.

?I can?t imagine, based on who your clientele is, that someone isn?t friends with somebody on the board,? said Susan Parker, who owns Bari Jay.

?Yes, exactly!? said Ms. Lord. ?You probably have champion parents, parents who are like, ?Oh my gosh, what would we do without Thinking Caps??? Ms. Lord suggested Ms. Mayzler call these parents, share Thinking Caps? goals, and see if anyone is willing to make introductions.

Ms. Mayzler said that maybe the process would be easier if she just focused on one organization at a time.

?Or not one, but five,? Ms. Lord said.

?Somewhere between one and three ? something that?s manageable,? Ms. Johnson said.

?Do more than one, though,? Ms. Parker said.

?Yes, definitely more than one,? Ms. Lord agreed.

?Because, if you put all your eggs in one basket, and it doesn?t happen, then you?re back to where you started,? said Ms. Parker.

?I just met with a guy who?s the director of all of the JCCs in North America,? Ms. Shaw said. She offered to introduce Ms. Mayzler to him.

?The JCCs, from what I understand, run very individual programs,? Ms. Parker said.

Still, Ms. Shaw said, the organization does have preferred vendors. At the very least, her contact might be able to point Ms. Mayzer in the right direction.

You can follow Adriana Gardella on Twitter.

Source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/when-small-businesses-try-to-attract-big-partners/

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