How to find business partners to increase the success of your online business
If you are a solopreneur (only you in your business), you will need help from other businesses of some kind. You will need advertising materials, a website, a delivery system (depending on your niche), etc.
Few people have the knowledge to perform all those services by themselves. The solution is to find providers for each specific niche you need within the online B2B Marketplace.
You may need additional money for your business. Once again, locating business partners through business networks is the solution.
Let’s say you want to create an eCommerce store that sells your hand-painted pottery. You could hire someone to build a custom coded website for you (using a B2B Marketplace site provider like Fiverr or Upwork (which has absorbed ODesk and Elance) and Guru.com.
Or you could partner with companies that offer “associate” programs in your niche. For example, you can create an eBay eCommerce store to sell anything from your own books to used books, tools, jewelry, sports equipment, etc. You can also partner with Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com.
Other global companies offer affiliate opportunities. Basically, they will pay you to create an online business presence to help them market their products and services. How can you find these affiliate opportunities? Join a business networking site and learn from those who already participate in such programs.
Using independent marketplace portals to find talented people is a form of trade association, but it is on demand. You use these people only when you need them and the portal that provides their services. Since freelancers work for a variety of people, they may not be available the next time you need them, so you need to find a new provider.
Finding business partners outside of these marketplace portals, with whom you can officially partner, solves this difficulty.
For example, shipping costs from one country to another can be prohibitive unless you “drop ship,” meaning you ship your product to a partner in another country, and that company stores the product and ships it as needed. necessary to people in- country ordering the product.
People or companies offering such services can be found on B2B Marketplace sites.
To find these B2B Marketplace sites, simply do a web search on that term. Then simply search through the results to find a site that offers business services in your particular niche. A B2B Marketplace site is essentially a business network, and networking is the key to expanding your business into the global marketplace.
Business partners located in different areas of the world can also help you advertise your business, particularly your e-commerce business, and make it known worldwide.