Making Creative Business Partnerships Work - Accion Opportunity Fund Making Creative Business Partnerships Work - Accion Opportunity Fund

Making Creative Business Partnerships Work

Hear from two business owners about what creative collaboration really looks like: how they navigate business partnership, make decisions together, and handle the tension between creative vision and business reality.

Small business partnership members shaking hands.

Creative Business Partnerships for Small Business Owners

Running a creative business means constantly balancing the work you love with the business decisions that keep the lights on.

In this webinar recording, you will hear from two business owners about what creative collaboration really looks like: how they navigate business partnerships, make decisions together, and handle the tension between creative vision and business reality.

  • Understand what makes a creative collaboration effective from both a relationship and business perspective.
  • Identify key conversations to have around roles, decision-making, money, expectations, and ownership before starting a collaboration.
  • Learn practical ways to balance creative vision with business realities like deadlines, revenue, capacity, and execution.
  • Leave with questions and considerations to help determine whether a potential creative partnership is a good fit.

Meet the Business Partnership Experts

Julienne Reyes Sodipo

Julienne Reyes Sodipo is an entrepreneur, content creator, and social media strategist behind Belugabee, a small business she has run for over 5 years focused on art, creativity, and giving back to the environment and kids in need. Julienne has grown her online audience to over 96,000 followers across social media through engaging and authentic content. She previously worked as a social media manager in the Bay Area, where she promoted weekly events, managed influencers, and created scroll-stopping digital marketing campaigns, and she has also worked as a social media marketing consultant for multiple small businesses, helping them grow their online presence and connect with their audiences online.

Stay in touch with Julienne:

Dr. Geoff Dold

Dr. Geoff Dold, PT, DPT is a physical therapist working with runners and active adults, operating Move Simply Physical Therapy, a cash-based physical therapy company. His business provides one-on-one movement evaluations and treatment sessions, custom strength and running programs, and education to help runners achieve their goals and run injury-free.

In the current insurance-based healthcare industry, profits are placed before quality of care. Move Simply Physical Therapy is committed to providing clients with high quality personalized care to get real lasting results. As a business owner he works with several local gyms and run clubs and has used the power of these relationships to more than double his revenue each year in business.

Stay in touch with Geoff:

Creative Business Partnership Topics

  • How do you know who to collaborate with? How do you know when a potential relationship is actually something worth building together?
  • How do you decide when a creative idea is actually worth turning into a business opportunity?
  • What should you look for in a potential creative business partner and where should you start looking, when it comes to finding the right person to collaborate with?
  • In a partnership, each person has their role. How do you figure out who will bring what to the table?
  • There can be a big gap between saying, “We should do something together,” and actually making it happen. Once you decide to move forward, how do you turn the idea into a real plan?
  • What are some of the things you should discuss or decide early so expectations are clear before the work really gets started?
  • How do you handle decision-making when both of you have strong opinions about what a project should look like?
  • Creative entrepreneurs care deeply about the work itself, but there are also budgets, deadlines, and revenue to think about. How do you balance protecting the creative vision with business reality?
  • Money can make collaborations uncomfortable fast. How do you approach conversations about pricing, expenses, or who’s responsible for what financially?
  • What should collaborators agree on around money before a project starts?
  • How clearly do roles and responsibilities need to be defined in a creative collaboration? What about things like deadlines, ownership of the work, or promotion — what should be clear upfront?

Ready to take your business to the next level? Sign up for free one-on-one support from AOF Certified Business Advisors.