The digital marketing competition in Wooster, Ohio, where I founded my business, is not fierce. I know of a handful of companies operating in similar space as my business, Wooster Media Group LLC, but not all of us offer the same services. Some overlap exists, but is it possible for digital marketing competitors to become partners? I have found the answer to this question to be, “Yes, very much so.”
Wooster Media Group
I launched Wooster Media Group as a solopreneur effort. During my very first meeting on my very first day of doing business, Justin Starlin, president of the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce, had some wise words of advice to me: Offer to build simple, straightforward websites for a reasonable price, because there is a need for that here. “Thanks, but no thanks,” pretty much sums up my response to Starlin’s advice. In fact, I turned down a request to build a website because it was not what I wanted to do. I focused on three areas: Search engine optimization, content creation, and social media management.
However, when a second person asked me if I built websites, I said, “I do.” The decision to add building websites to my business paid off for me. It became about 25 percent of my business. I built several clean, fully functional, and mobile-responsive websites.
Web Pyro
One day, I got a call from David Joyal of Web Pyro, one of the handful of companies offering similar, but not entirely the same, services. (Web Pyro’s core services include web design and brand strategy.) We had a mutual client, and the client needed us to work together on a project. The experience turned out to be a good one, and from that initial project, the two of us have sought out each other’s areas of expertise on other projects. We have gone on several sales presentations together, and we have experienced success with this partnership.
‘Partnership’
When I use the word partnership to describe Wooster Media Group’s relationship with Web Pyro, I am not using it in a technical or business sense. David and I run our own companies. If you look at the various forms a business can take (sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, etc.), partnerships (in the technical sense) seem to have a number of issues that lead to business closures or failures. As I use the word, I am talking about working in tandem on projects and both of us benefiting from the arrangement.
Benefits
Why I like this collaboration:
- I can still help my clients achieve their goals and help them solve their problems while letting David take care of the technical aspects of website design and development, so I can focus on my area of expertise: Content creation.
- It allows me to remove some work from my plate, but still receive compensation. If I design a site, I make 100 percent of the profit. If David designs a site and I create the content, I make only a portion. However, it frees up some time so I can pursue other projects.
- It helps me target my energies on the highest and best use of my time. As an entrepreneur, I wear many hats. My skill level differs with each role.
- It opens up new opportunities. I have been asked to analyze a website and make recommendations to improve it, and the site was beyond my capabilities. However, David’s experience in the field of web design and development was beneficial. Without David, I would not have been able to recommend a solution.
- It’s nice to have someone with whom to speak. Running a business out of my house means I am alone (with my pets) a lot. Unless I am leaving for a meeting, a presentation or have calls to make, my house is a solitary place.
So, while in some sense Web Pyro and Wooster Media Group are digital marketing competitors, we have worked out an agreement to collaborate with one another. It means we can cast a wider net in our efforts to land new clients, while still allowing us to focus on our core strengths. It helps that David and I share similar goals and have similar personalities. Is this an arrangement that could work for you and a potential competitor? Possibly, but you will never know until you explore it. If I can help your business, then contact me today. To find out more about what David does with Web Pyro, contact him here.
