Sarah Gerdes Articles

Zero Down Partnerships an Entrepreneurs Key to Starting a Business - Click To Read Article
Learn how two entrepreneurs used smart partnerships to jump start their businesses with zero down. This article details how a Facilities partnership can be used to share risk and revenue as opposed to signing a five-year lease, and another used an Engineering partnership to develop and bring products to market, eliminating the need for outside capital.

The Scary Business of Partner Due Diligence - Click To Read Article
If you were buying a car, you would expect two things. First, the car would be fully functional and second, the car dealer would run a credit check before financing a loan. This is a simple example of the bi-directional due diligence process that most individuals encounter many times throughout their life. It is nearly identical to the due diligence that takes place between companies considering the formation of a partnership, up to and including the credit report! But be it a car or a partnership, the point of conducting Due Diligence is to protect both parties from making a potential mistake. This article identifies why due diligence is necessary and get the most out of the necessary process.

The Power of Two: Partnerships in the Manufacturing Industry - Click To Read Article
In the manufacturing industry, the term partnership used to apply to old-school joint ventures, now it can just as easily be used in the context of modern distribution, licensing or joint development deals. To start a new business in this traditionally cash-strapped, union-laden industry, it’s important to understand the attributes of a partnership in the manufacturing industry, and success stories from the most 4 beneficial types of partnerships for small businesses.

The Invisble Hand of Partnerships - Click To Read Article
Venture capitalists state the number one reason for not funding a new venture is \'lack of strategic partnership strategy\'. Learn what leading VC firms look for in a venture pitch, the role they expect a CEO to play in creating partnerships, and how you can improve your chances of being funded by anticipating and answering critical partner development questions.

Partnerships: The Small Business Secret Weapon - Click To Read Article
Partnerships – Why do You Need Them? By Sarah Gerdes, Business Marketing Group, Inc. Whether you are a two-person firm or part of a global 50 organization, creating the right partnership is vital to successfully growing a business. This article is the first in a series of 5 articles that will walk you through the partnering specifics: Partnerships – Why do You Need Them?; Identifying and Validating the Right Partner; Creating the Partnership; Negotiating and Close the Agreement and Ending the Partnership.

Partnering Best Practices: From Five People to Fortune 50 - Click To Read Article
Learn what BusinessWeeks top 50 CEO Dan Wormenhoven and the owner of a four person start-up have in common: a partnering best practice model called Alliance Mapping. Used in over forty industries by hundreds of companies, AllianceMapping is a one-stop model that combines the 4-P\'s of marketing and adds a critical 5th-Partnerships.

Partner Conflicts Management Tips from the Experts - Click To Read Article
Partnerships have a courtship, a honeymoon period, and then the ups and downs associated with day to day events. Conflicts arise, sometimes during the honeymoon and must be managed successfully or the relationship sours and eventually ends. This article describes the most common reasons for partner conflicts and recommends strategies for identifying and managing through partnership conflicts.

Partnership Success Story: a High Fashion Entrepreneur Goes Global - Click To Read Article
A former eyeware designer goes global by creating an exclusive manufacturing partnership.

Partnering Techniques for the Entrepreneur the First Pitch - Click To Read Article
When the owner of a three person small business pitched Home Depot on a partnership to grow his painting company, he had no idea how close he came to achieving his goal. But his lack of asking the right questions and capitalizing on the needs of the larger business cost him the partnership opportunity. This article covers common partnership problems encountered by entrepreneurs during the first partner conversation and the six critical questions to ask during the initial pitch that can make or break the conversation.

Partnership Success Story: A Life Coach Doubles Business in 30 days - Click To Read Article
Learn how a consultant used a marketing partnership with an outsourced human resource firm to double her client base and quadruple her revenue in less than thirty days.

Partnership Success Story: Joint Venture returns 100X in 12 months - Click To Read Article
The uniform manufacturing business is far from sexy. But any entrepreneur will tell you that a 100 times return on investment from a joint venture partnership turn heads, regardless of the industry. Blumenthal Uniforms realized the power of partnerships when it created a JV to expand its customer base, improve margins and gain a foothold in an entirely new industry.

Negotiating and Closing the Partnership Agreement - Click To Read Article
After the partner development work has been completed, and before the revenue starts rolling in, agreements that formalize a relationship between parties must be completed. If you have completed the last step in the partner development process—the technical due diligence—then this is a natural outcome. Believe it or not, fatal mistakes (the kind that cost you the company) are rarely made at the agreement phase. They are simply the most visible and costly. This article identifies the typical process followed to create an agreement, the players, their roles and tips on accelerating the agreement phase.

Identifying and Validating the Right Partner - Click To Read Article
This article details the five critical steps in researching and validating the right Potential Partner Organizations (PPOs), how to weight the benefits against the risks and the 5-step best practice to creating a Partner Plan.

Hooking Up: Creating a Small Business Partner Profiling Tool - Click To Read Article
You’re an entrepreneur starting or running a small business, barely keeping your head above water when suddenly, success hits in the form of two, five or twenty calls a day from companies that want to partner with you. At first you’re flattered until you realize you don’t have time to talk those firms you know will drive revenue for your organization, and now you are being asked to consider the business pitch of a group you’ve never even heard of. How do you ferret out the misfits and focus on the potential gold mine? You step back and consider creating your own partner-profiling program. It’s not as hard or time consuming as it sounds. And it’s absolutely critical if you are going to scale quickly and cost effectively through partnerships.

Creating the Partnership: The First Step to Jump-Starting Revenue - Click To Read Article
Creating the partnership is the first step to realize the benefits of an alliance. However, penetrating and entering the maze of a target partner organization can be time consuming, costly and full of risk if not done properly. According BMG’s polls of 450 CEOs, 1999, CEOs of start-ups are spending 30% of their time on establishing partnerships. Average ROI is only $35K. It takes 6 meetings before a substantive conversation and 12-18 months on average from first call to realize revenue. This article identifies the partner development cycle, along with techniques to accelerate the partnership creation. Whether you are at the start of the partner development cycle, or are half way through, this article contains a summary of the techniques and tools to attain a partnership.

Building Your Business Top Ten: Exploiting the Power of Franchise Systems - Click To Read Article
According to the International Franchise Association (IFA), franchise systems are responsible for more than forty percent of revenue in the United States yet make up less than 4% of the businesses. With less than fifty employees, the majority of these franchises are considered small businesses, generally run by entrepreneurs. Ambitious entrepreneurs often own three to seven franchises in the same city or region. Franchises offer a great businesses opportunity for entrepreneurs for a variety of reasons. Franchise owners are receptive to other entrepreneurs and will give honest feedback on new product ideas. Second, if they like your products, they can make the decision to carry your product on the spot. Yet many entrepreneurs overlook franchise systems entirely. Here are the top ten reasons to take a second look.

Building Your Business Top Ten: Finding the Best Partner - Click To Read Article
Entrepreneur’s don’t have a lot of discretionary money to hire a consultant to research, identify and validate the right partner(s). They are too busy hustling new customers, cutting deals with vendors and ensuring a steady cash flow. So they do what every person determined to be the next Donald Trump does—gather data the old fashioned way, by hitting the streets. If you don’t have the time, there are a few other tricks of the trade and their pros and cons.

Ask the Expert Getting into Costco Wholesale - Click To Read Article
Every entrepreneur dreams of having his or her new product in the front aisle of warehouse giant Costco. Located in the backyard (literally) of this author, learn 5 key insights regarding this market leader before you seriously approach them as a potential partner.

Ask the Expert: Partner and Alliance Manager Compensation - Click To Read Article
The debate continues to rage about the best compensation structure for partner managers. Recently BMG sat with a round table of chief executives, financial and alliance officers to discuss the merits behind the plethora of compensation structures available. The group didn’t agree on salary figures, commission percentages or bonuses, yet they did agree on one thing: the compensation structure MUST create the right motivation and this falls into two camps: strategic or tactical.

An Entrepreneur's Best Friend: The MyBizHomepage Financial Tools Dashboard - Click To Read Article
If you are looking for free advice from a retired expert, want to save money that you’d otherwise give to your accountant, or need tried and testing partnership agreements, presentations or tools, then read on. MyBizHomepage.com was launched in March 2006 that includes all three at No Charge.


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