How Smart Partnerships Can Create Winning Business Opportunities

Natalie Bellis, CEO, The Seventy Ninth Group.

Partnerships sit at the heart of a successful business, and they can take many forms.

I like to think of a partnership relationship as similar to a dance. Some are more like a waltz where two people move together in synchrony; you complement each other and move in the same direction. Others will be far more staccato, like a salsa, working together but with more attrition, more energy and the occasional tension. But whatever the style, when the balance is right, they can lead to a successful outcome.

Within our own business, we have partnerships that range from informal mutual benefit arrangements to formal joint ventures that are contractual and transactional to alliances that are based on shared interests and values. We also have partnerships within our business, between disciplines and across regions that have structure and set goals. For businesses like ours that must navigate complex global markets, building long-lasting partnerships with like-minded people inside and outside the organization is vital for growth. Whatever form the partnership takes, companies can see many benefits.

Entering New Territories

If your company is entering new territories, consider teaming up with people with an established positive track record. In doing so, you can fill knowledge and skills gaps. For example, I think back to when we were new to mining exploration and doing business in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa. We had ambitious plans and good relationships already in place, but we were on a learning curve and would need to lean on the expertise and knowledge of others.

Recognizing this from the start, we were proactive in identifying and finding new partners. Some of these were professionals who could advise us on the fundamentals of doing business somewhere new; others were community organizations who would help us understand the local workforce and culture. This drove confidence in our team and stakeholders.

Sharing Resources

Partnering with others can also be an effective way to drive efficiencies by sharing resources. If you are scaling as your business, you might consider joining others that are in a similar position to share technology, facilities and equipment; this can benefit both. The hive of minds working together can also drive creativity and innovation.

In Guinea, we saw this firsthand during our exploration efforts. Partnerships allow us to mobilize operations on the ground more quickly, which frees up our senior team to build relationships and drive support for our venture. There’s also something about that feeling of shared success that we found to be a real motivator.

Knowledge Exchange

Businesses will always benefit from new, current and diverse expertise, but it’s not always possible to have all the expertise needed for a project within your team. Hiring the right people requires time and investment. That’s where partnerships may be able to help. Our strategic partnerships with a mining consultancy and technical advisers, for example, have given us access to experts with years of experience in geology and exploration in Guinea. These are specialist skills we would not have been able to build independently within our business overnight.

If you’re expanding your business, you can also consider partnerships in the community to help you learn quickly about local people, business etiquette and how you can give back in the places you operate. I’ve found the ripple effect of these types of partnerships can be so positive. For instance, we now have established and growing relationships supporting three local non-governmental organizations. Building partnerships where ideas and approaches will not only evolve but also be challenged is a real advantage of this way of working.

Supply Chain Resilience

Partnerships can also play an important part in driving collaboration across supply chains. This is important for transparency and resilience. Working with suppliers and distributors in a company’s locations across the globe can help streamline operations, reduce costs and ensure quality and delivery times. Consider teaming up with a local company when entering international markets. This can also provide established distribution channels, local market knowledge and regulatory insights, which are particularly valuable.

Within our own supply chain, for example, we have a partnership with a leader in Canadian metals exploration to strengthen our presence in the mining sector in North America. This partnership not only ensures a reliable project pipeline but also expands our global footprint to include Canada and diversifies the type of metals in our asset portfolio.

Building Collaboration

Building a corporate culture that values collaboration rather than working in silos can be a driver for growth as well. If, like us, you have teams based in locations far apart, often doing very different jobs, this can be a challenge, but it’s important for companies to foster relationships and build partnerships among their teams.

For example, some of your best problem solvers across the business might not be the same people as those dealing with the issue at hand. People with an analytical brain from your finance team could be well-placed to help talk through a technical issue. Likewise, somebody more creative who drives people and culture could be a great addition to the discussion around branding with your marketing team. For us, this way of working has been so effective in creating the necessary synergy while we navigate growth and global expansion.

In the end, whether you’re aiming to boost growth, break into new markets, sharpen your skills or tackle a challenge, partnering up can be a total game-changer. Think of it like a dance: When everyone moves in sync, things just flow. And by encouraging your teams to collaborate, you’re tapping into all that expertise and creativity to reach your goals like a perfectly choreographed routine.

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