It has always been next to impossible for small business to compete with big business.  They have never had the resources to withstand any direct attack from the larger companies.  That is until now.  The internet has leveled the playing field dramatically.

I recently stumbled upon a group of individuals who have harnessed the power of the internet to enable them to compete against the larger corporations.  These people design and build “Small Houses”; and I mean small!   Their strategy for dealing with the bigger competitors in construction is very compelling.

They found each other on the internet and decided to collaborate with each other instead of competing.  They advertise on each other’s sites and send work to each other when it is appropriate.  Here is the link to one of the companies http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/.  The founder is Jay Shafer and his company is “Tumbleweed Tiny House Company”.

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company - Jay Shafer

So have you explored your options?  Networking is a great way of getting more business locally; but what if you formed a strategic alliance with someone who would normally be your competition but is located too far away to matter?  You know “Think Global Act Local”.  Or you line up with someone locally who does something that is a little different than you and actually compliments your product/service.

All you need to do is decide what it is you will specialize in and then line up with someone who can provide the additional items that maybe needed for the consumer product/service to be completely satisfied.  You would set up your own horizontal channels based on what your company lacked.  Some examples could be small banks align with companies that provide business services.  Flower shop aligns with a gift basket company.  Some of the collaboration could be done via websites and online (via, an eblast, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.).  This is a relatively easy way to get access to a larger market place with relatively low risk.  Big businesses have been doing this kind of stuff for years.

What really intrigues me is the scale of this.  Why couldn’t a small accounting company form a loose partnership with a small accounting company in Ireland or New Zealand?  How about a gift basket company selling products from Denmark exclusively; that they get from a small Mom & Pop store?

You wouldn’t have to make it really elaborate.  It could be a “let’s see how this works out first” kind of thing.  I have recently done this with a business coach.  We have a loose alliance that provides us the ability to bring to the small to medium size business community access to the concept of monthly business roundtables at a price point that makes sense for them.  It has worked great for us and we both have gotten alot out of it.

So what do you think?  I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on this?  Please share?