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The Business of Collaboration

Sara Aymami, LMT, founder and owner of Deep Massage & Bodywork in San Francisco, says that she has a fantastic working partnership with a chiropractic group. From the beginning, she says, it was set up to be a win-win relationship.

“We continually refer to each other and are available to one another to collaborate on specific clients, when needed,” says Aymami. “If you are aligned in your mission statements, clientele and integrity, having others involved in your practice can only be beneficial.”

Wallace formed an alliance with two other independent therapists about a year ago. She wasn’t ready to hire full-time therapists, but her schedule had been consistently overbooked for months, and she really needed some assistance so she could devote some much-needed time to marketing, networking and planning.

“We had been forming solid relationships with each other for quite some time,” says Wallace of her eventual associates. “We all graduated from the same advanced training programs at a local school, but also had fairly diverse backgrounds. I knew their work, felt very comfortable with their professionalism and ethics, and knew I would have no hesitation in scheduling my clients with either of them.”

Wallace’s long-term vision is the creation of a whole-health and wellness center, which would bring together independent practitioners in various fields.

“It will provide the benefit of being co-located, sharing resources for marketing, administration, and so forth,” says Wallace, “while allowing each member to be entrepreneurial and independent.” She’s currently in the beginning stages of this venture, and feels strongly that her concept is a boon for practitioners and clients alike.

The result, she says, is that alliances can be very effective for small businesses as long as all parties have similar visions and goals.

Keeping your small business thriving relies on a combination of fundamental steps. Provide a unique service experience, track your clients’ needs and become a partner in their well-being, collaborate with like-minded practitioners in your community—and in your clients’ minds, no other business will compare.

References

  1. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “Coldwell Banker study finds customer service is key to repeat business.” Dec 2004. CB. 11 Oct 2007 [www.coldwellbanker.com/servlet/News?action=viewNewsItem&contentId= 700705&customerType=News].
  2. Business 2 Business. “Silence is Not Golden: Customer Rage.” Feb 2005. B2B. 27 Sep 2007 [www.super-solutions.com/CustomerRage_B2B0205.asp].

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