The difference between being a vendor and a partner is not just marketing.
A vendor is a creative business that provides excellent product and/or services to its clients. A vendor may go the extra mile for its clients so that the client looks terrific. Of course, the vendor will do a great job. At the end of the day though, a vendor is still just hoping to get hired. For instance, a florist might supply florals to a designer, interesting samples and other product ideas all by way of helping the florist get the event.
A partner, on the other hand, inserts her creative business into a client’s business so that the product and/or service the creative business supplies is but one component of the overall relationship. Getting hired is just the way the client is able to monetarily compensate the partner for the creative business’ work on the clients behalf. By no means am I talking about a formal partnership, just simply an attitude. The mindset is: I will bring my and my creative business’ expertise and knowledge to the table to provide strength and opportunity to my client. I do not view my clients as a series of “jobs” but rather an annuity revenue stream upon which I will devote substantial resources. As with any partnership, these creative businesses also have expectations on the other side: yes, they will get the lion share of their client’s business, however, they will also be involved in developing new business opportunities with the client. In short, these creative businesses become an extension of their client’s creative business. And while this post is primarily about business-to-business relationships, it need not be. The question is how far a creative business is willing to go to both identify a void in a business (or person) and then actively fill it. Every day.
Not every creative business can or should be a partner on either side of the equation. For some creative businesses, the investment in providing resources beyond the specific art generated is neither practical nor even valuable. The florist cited above would be an example. How far can she go in supporting her clients beyond all things floral? But a stationer? A photographer? An interior designer? It is too easy to say that investing your brand and expertise in a client is beyond what is necessary to secure business. While you may be right in the short term, you are likely not in the long run. Given the chance, there will always be another creative business ready to work harder, give more and support your client better as a vendor. However, they are not you and if you are actively filling a need, then there is a (huge) price your client will pay should they choose to jeapordize your relationship with a competitor.
So what creative businesses make for good partners? It really has nothing to do with size. It has to with focus – the creative businesses that know best who they are, what they do and whom they serve. For these creative businesses, that their art transcends their medium is inevitable. The question is when and if you can figure out how your creative business can make that inevitability a reality.
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When I first started using the term creative partner, some people in the event industry laughed or rolled their eyes, even after I explained it. I’ve always believed language in the power of language. As Audre Lorde once said, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” In other words, though the creative partner label may not fit for everyone, for those artists who are chronic under-earners, this new language and your explanation provide a brand new framework to utilize when earning what you’re worth becomes a priority and one decides to explore ways to make that happen.