How The Power Of Partnerships Can Help Take Your Brand To The Next Level
Relationship building is one of the most important things you can do in your life. Your relationships can be the fund sourcing you need to start up your entrepreneurial endeavors. It can be the very thing that can elevate your personal brand or take your career to new heights.
Teneshia Jackson Warner is a true example of this after using the power of partnership to help jumpstart her career trajectory. Before becoming the CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Egami Consulting Group, Teneshia left her corporate job to pursue a career she was passionate about and would let her feel fulfilled each day. She told Essence.com, “You have to give in order to get. To discover my next career move, I offered my services for no charge.”
After a brief encounter with Russell Simmons, she persistently contacted his office for 30 days until she ran into him again to pitch herself for an opportunity to learn from him. From there, she created her first partnership that helped the trajectory of her career. “Essentially the offer that I made him was a partnership. It was a mutually beneficial win for both parties. What was in it for Russell is that he got an individual who had 5 years of corporate experience to work for him. For me I got the opportunity to learn the entertainment industry, urban culture and urban marketing, and I really never had that experience before,” she shared.
Teneshia’s partnership with Russell helped her gain the necessary knowledge and expertise for marketing to a multicultural audience, which lead her to launching her own company. The Egami Group is a multicultural agency that connects brands to diverse audiences. Teneshia's company partners with general market agencies who lack the expertise for connecting with multicultural audiences, celebrities and online influencers. Teneisha has played a hand in making partnerships a reality for her business ventures and her clients. "What partnership means to me is when two partners come together and they identify a win-win solution. They really come together to see what each wants, what each can bring to the table and what is the intersect point where you both can support each other. I call it a win-win-win model. That’s where every partner and every party at the table has a winning solution," she shared.
[Tweet "True partnership is when two brands come together and they identify a win-win solution"]
In the midst of putting the final touches on her fourth annual Dream Project Symposium, Teneshia sat down to share her tips for understanding the power of partnership:
DON'T COME TO THE TABLE THINKING ONLY OF YOURSELF
I think coming to the table completely focused on what’s in it for you is mistake number one. When you come to the table and it’s about your agenda, your objectives and what you desire is not the right approach. You really can’t find what the win-win is unless you are really seeking to understand what is the partner’s goal, what is the partner’s objective and what is a win for that partner. You have to listen and understand the need of the individual and entity that you partner with. You and the partner can make an assessment on whether this will work for you and their goals and their vision.
KNOW WHO YOU ARE IN THE EQUATION
Once a partnership is in place, you need to know when to give and when to push. For example, certain things for the sake of the partnership you may be more flexible, you may be more willing to give. You may be in a place where you are proving yourself in a partnership, and it’s not the time for you to show up negotiating as if you are the strongest asset at the table. You need to know who you are in the equation. Have a true assessment and not an ego assessment. Know if you are pushing too much to the point where you are about to break the partnership or ruin the whole deal. You don’t want to be perceived as a hard person to work with and not a collaborative partner.
BE AUTHENTIC IN THE PARTNERSHIPS YOU CHOOSE
You can’t go into a partnership based on something that is not true to you. For example, you are a celebrity getting ready to go into a hair care deal. In order for that to be really authentic, you need to use those hair care products. You need to be passionate about those hair care products. Consumers are savvy and they can understand when it’s a real authentic partnership or when it’s someone who will just take a check.
BE SELECTIVE
Depending on the partnership, nowadays they feel like marriages. Be very selective in what types of partnerships you get in and be selective in knowing if this is right for me in the long term.
[Tweet "Partnerships can feel like marriages, so be selective!"]
ALWAYS SEEK TOOLS, RESOURCES & INSPIRATION
Conferences, symposiums and networking events are great ways to build relationships and learn the necessary skills to develop partnerships, just like The Dream Project.
In its fourth year, The Dream Project was created to support professionals in being able to take their business projects to the next level. “I think going into an information resource setting, you will have the opportunity to hear from iconic entrepreneurs like Magic Johnson, Jennifer Fleiss of Rent the Runway, Miss Robbie of OWN. You get a lot of nuggets and wisdom on what did they do right and what did they do wrong,” she shared. The symposium took place on April 21 and 22, and offered attendees the chance to hear from digital experts, Millennial CEOs, as well as a session of powerful women who shared their secrets to success. “They can utilize The Dream Project as a resource and a tool. They can walk away and immediately to apply the things that they learned to their brand or small business," Teneisha added.
Ultimately you have to know who you are, what you stand and where your brand aligns when seeking a partnership. "I think the big thing you can do is to become extremely self aware. Know your skills, your value and what you are bringing to the table. In order to form that partnership, you have to know what it is you can offer the other person. Do the work to understand your value, so that you can clearly articulate that when you are pitching yourself," Teneisha advised.
If you are ready to attract a bigger audience, and don't have a huge marketing budget, the right partnerships can be key to elevating your brand and taking it to the next level. By partnering with companies and brands who are targeting the same audience, you’ll be able to create a bigger brand presence and awareness for your content, products and services.
Brittney Oliver is a marketing communications professional from Greater Nashville. Over the past three years, Brittney has built her platform Lemons 2 Lemonade to help Millennials turn life's obstacles around. Her platform is known for its networking mixers, which has brought over 300 NYC young professionals, entrepreneurs, and creatives together to turn life's lemons into lemonade. Brittney is a contributing writer for Fast Company and ESSENCE, among other media outlets.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Rihanna Talks Shedding Expectations And Finding Balance As A Mother
Since becoming a mother in 2022, Rihanna has defined parenthood by her terms and hopes to pass that sense of autonomy on to her children.
For Vogue China’s April cover story, Rihanna shared her perspective on raising her two sons with A$AP Rocky, and how she hopes to preserve her children’s uniqueness, devoid of societal expectations.
"The most beautiful thing...is that [children] come into the world with their own individuality and sincerity, without any logic or conformity,” she told the publication. “Which usually makes you feel that you must fit into a certain group."
The “Work” artist, known for her trendsetting style and captivating persona, expressed her desire to support children in fully embracing their individuality and encouraging them to be whoever they want to be. "It's really beautiful to see and I want to continue to help them navigate that and make sure that they know they can be whoever they want to be,” she says.
She continues, “They should embrace it completely, because it's beautiful, and it's unique. I love them just that way."
From shattering music charts to shaking up the beauty industry, Rihanna has forged a path that has since created the “dream” life we see today. One that she says has made her parents proud of.
“I’m living my dream,” she continued. “My parents were very proud of that because they just wanted me to be happy and successful. So, I think the key thing is to find some kind of balance. Yes, balance is important. Do this and you get the best of both worlds. You can write your own life the way you want, and it will be beautiful. Sometimes, you just need to let go of everyone’s expectations and start living your own story.”
Rihanna, who shares sons, RZA, 23 months, and Riot, 8 months, with rapper A$AP Rocky, recently shared her vision for expanding her family in the future in Interview Magazine.
When stylist Mel Ottenberg asked about the number of additional children she hoped to have, Rihanna replied, "As many as God wants me to have.”
"I don't know what God wants, but I would go for more than two. I would try for my girl,” she adds. “But of course, if it's another boy, it's another boy."
Featured image by Neil MockfordWireImage