For all of you who have worked with me professionally, you know I’m a solid advocate of partnership marketing. Teaming up with businesses is an opportunity to extend your brand, enhance sales and, most importantly, offer a higher value of product or service to your customer than many of your competitors.

My latest project, The Richardson House, involves rehabilitating a historic home and converting this house from a neglected B&B to an impeccable private holiday rental. While a very tedious and labor-intensive process — from floor and paint to web design and marketing collateral — every step has involved our local community and an array of unique and creative partnerships.

Our philosophy is to create a sense of community around this prestigious home in the historic district of Truckee, California. She has maintained her glorious position sitting just above town since the 1880s and has gone unscathed through major fires and redevelopment. We knew before we purchased this incredible home that she would never be ours; she would always belongs to Truckee. Our role is nothing short of looking after her, for now, until another generation pulls her under its wing.

Our first decision was to hire a house manager. Given the current economy, we knew the pool of viable candidates would be vast. Little did our house manager know, we had already decided Chelsea was our gal before we wrote the job description. Chelsea Walterscheid is president of the Truckee-Donner Historical Society, a historian by trade and life long resident of Truckee. Who better to manage this historic home than a historian?

Due to Chelsea’s vast network within the community, she brings an incredible array of individuals to the home. Whether bidding on our next project or simply stopping by to say hello, her diverse relationships directly benefit our business.  Contractors want to please Chelsea and share her interest in the home, each of them taking a little bit of ownership of The Richardson House with them after each project.

Much like Chelsea, we had our sights on our caretaker long before we’d closed escrow. Jim Katt is “the man” about town when it comes to landscaping. His thoughtful designs utilizing natural resources were something we’d already experienced at our own home. The yard at The Richardson House had been neglected for many years, and we knew we needed someone with patience and passion to turn this historic eyesore into the gorgeous garden the home — and neighbors — deserve.

As we approached Jim to not only take on the exterior project, we asked that he consider joining our team as caretaker, upon his acceptance we were surprised with his many hidden talents – including a keen eye for paint and design.  Before long, the garden will be in full bloom, and I suspect not only Jim, but also the many friends and fellow landscapers he’s included in this project, will be swelling with pride.

Once we had the right people in place, it was time to dig into the marketing aspect of the business. Creating a new brand is an exciting process, although personally, very difficult for me upon the onset. Because I have the wonderful privilege of knowing so many incredible marketers and designers, choosing one agency or individual was tough. After a great deal of thought I knew the individual creating our brand would need to fit into our community partner philosophy. We needed someone who would visit the house, proudly point it out to friends and family, and ‘own’ the brands look and feel throughout the region.  Cesar Lopez of New Leaders was our man.

Cesar spent countless hours at the house: attending marketing meetings, admiring her rehabilitation, directing photo shoots, and simply getting a feel for her presence and vibe. Over the past four months, Cesar has become yet another one of the homes’ tenders, in his own special way.

To reinforce our vision of sharing The Richardson House with the community, we’ve created another infrastructure to enhance partnerships. Local and regional not-for-profits have been invited to use her for board meetings and/or special planning sessions. She’s quickly grown into the hearts of Trails and Vistas, Custom Learning Academy, and the Truckee Donner Land Trust. The list continues to grow each and every week.

As private holiday home rental remains a key component of our marketing effort, we went to a few of our favorite local businesses and asked if they would become a business partner by enhancing the “Truckee” experience for our guests. After a resounding  “Yes,” to those we asked, we were able to produce the Truckee Experience Card for all Richardson House guests. Guest benefits extend to specialty stores and restaurants all within walking vicinity and include:

-       A complimentary dog cookie at Scraps Dog Bakery

-       A free bath soap from Riverstone – Home, Gift and Garden

-       A mimosa with breakfast – on the house – Squeeze In Truckee

-       A “Relaxing” tea bag with any $10 purchase – Truckee Tea Company

-       A vino and cheese sampler – Moody’s Bistro & Lounge

-       ½ off your second burger – Burger Me

In addition, our guests will have the comfort of knowing that a portion of the proceeds from each stay will directly benefit the Truckee-Donner Historical Society and Truckee Donner Land Trust. The Richardson House is also a member of The BEAR League and the Sky Sponsor for Trails and Vistas 2010.

In five months, we’ve proudly partnered with at least two-dozen businesses and individuals in our community.  This process can be time consuming as a business owner or manager and certainly requires diligence, as you only want to work with businesses and organizations that support your mission, enhance your brand, and will take excellent care of your customers and employees. In my opinion though, partnerships are worth the effort, and the benefits will long out-way a short campaign or half-hearted PR push.  They grow out of mutual respect and can far exceed their immediate benefits if carefully nurtured and honestly represented.

I encourage you to look at the partnerships you already have and examine how they might be enhanced.  From there, look outside of the box and see where you can creatively bring in additional partners to enhance your product or service for your customers. It’s certainly worth the effort.

Not-for-Profit Board of Directors

My first experience serving on a board of directors (BOD) was in the early 90’s.  While attending the University of Nevada, Reno College of Business I was elected president of the collegiate chapter American Marketing Association BOD.  It was the first of many enlightening, challenging and downright political experiences I’ve enjoyed on a board over the past fifteen plus years.

With the drastic changes in the economy as of late, I’ve been witnessing an interesting paradigm shift in the world of not-for-profit boards. Businesses and organizations have access to fewer grants and sponsorships, while donations are on a decline. Board and committee members are now busier than ever trying to meet the demands of their current employers.

Individuals seem perpetually challenged in their genuine effort to be an active part of their family, a valued employee or business owner and a committed community citizen.  Taking on a board position can sometimes tip the scale to the point of overload, especially given all the help most boards are seeking as of late.

Although many of you may believe this is a good time to lessen your commitments outside of home, I would like to encourage you to reconsider (with a few caveats, of course).  By doing so you will reap many personal and professional rewards, including but not limited to:

Networking with dynamic and passionate individuals

Showcasing your professional talents

Introducing your product or service

Enabling your family, friends and colleagues to participate in your efforts and events

CONTRIBUTING TO A GREATER GOOD

With that said, I must throw caution to the wind.  Part of being on a board is taking responsibility for your commitment.  Taking the time to have a full understanding of what is expected of you PRIOR to taking on such a position is a necessity.  I recommend a private meeting with the Executive Director as well as a separate, in-person or phone meeting with several current members of the board you are considering joining.  Make sure it’s a fit for you from both a personal and professional standpoint.

In honor of a few of my favorite executive directors, I thought I’d share a few personal tips in the realm of professional “boarding” –

Read your bylaws once a year, understand your role and embrace your responsibility.

Attend meetings, contribute to relevant conversation and follow through on your commitments.

Network.  If you have a caterer on your board, let them bid on your next event.

Inspire others; bring a positive attitude to your BOD meetings.

Share your creative ideas and solutions, however be prepared to help implement these concepts.

Do not join a BOD if you are not committed to donating your professional expertise, personal (non business) time and financial resources.

Do not join a BOD if their regular meetings take place at a time you know will not work for you.

Do not join a BOD if you are doing a friend a favor and otherwise have no interest.

Do not join a BOD if your first conversation with the Executive Director outlines all of the responsibilities you will not be able to fulfill (translation – if you need ample exceptions compared to the rest of the BOD, it’s not a good time to join).

Do not join a BOD if you are in-between jobs.  Although it can be a great resume builder, your best intent can fall short if a new employer has other plans for your time.  Instead, join a committee and take on a short-term project.  Showcase your professional skills to your fellow committee members and BOD, it may help you land your next great job.

Do not resign without helping your executive director find your replacement, while not a “law” in the bylaw section, it’s a common and well-practiced courtesy.

Do not burnout your executive director, if this individual is overloaded with new programs and strategies your current goals and objectives will surely suffer.

If you’re currently a board member and feel you may be guilty of a few of the “do not’s,” please don’t fret.  Now is as good of time as any to reanalyze your role.  Perhaps it’s a good time to light your fire and “jump in” to the next meeting by acknowledging your absence to your fellow board members and make a personal commitment of tangible time and resources to your board from this point on?  Or maybe you could surprise the group with an unexpected holiday contribution of cash, in-kind services, or relevant goods?  Or perhaps it’s simply time to acknowledge the reality that life has you otherwise preoccupied and it’s time for you to find a super star to step-in and fill your role.

Whatever choice you make as a board member moving forward, I encourage you to make it count.  Being invited to join a board is a tremendous compliment as well as an opportunity, savor your role, have fun and whatever you do – don’t let your board down.