Be the Perfect Partner, Find the Perfect Partner

By guest contributor Maddy Hauge. Photography by Jon Calleja.

The most important steps in starting any new collaborative venture is identifying what your role should be and which people need to be brought in to round out the team.

There are a few questions you should ask yourself:

What are my applicable strengths?
What unique talents do you bring to the table? This will help you understand what your role in the project should be. You may also need to pitch yourself to potential collaborators, if they're not already familiar with your work. Knowing your unique talents in advance will help you sell yourself and your idea.

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Bing It On

By Victoria Hudgins.

We love Bing around here. They are a great sponsor, and their partnership has allowed for us to do things we otherwise wouldn't have been able to; such as hosting the Alt Channel and gathering for Alt NYC.

Hooray for BING!

But are they really the best? They've asked a handful of bloggers to take them up on finding out if they really are the best with the Bing It On Challenge. You can take the challenge too, right here. The results are in, want to hear what our bloggers thought? Click through to see: 

• Tracey Clark
• Everything Awesome
• Design for Mankind
• Design Mom
• Say Yes to Hoboken
• SF Girl By Bay
• The Alison Show
• Chookooloonks
• A Practical Wedding
• design love fest
• Making it Lovely

10 Qualities of Entrepreneurs

By Sara Urquhart. Photography of Chanel Paris week fall 2012.

Being a successful blogger means you also need the skills of a great entrepreneur. Here are ten skills to hone as your business grows.

1. Take risks. A willingness to try things—and fail—is at the heart of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are comfortable with uncertainty.

2. Manage pressure. When things get really intense, successful business people have the ability to stay sane, maintain family relationships, and sleep at night, even under serious pressure.

3. Have confidence. Believe that what you’re offering is what people want. It sounds simple, but it’s that kind of conviction that leads to success.

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Friday Links- Curtain Call

By Victoria Hudgins. Photography by Marci.

Are you ever fearful about your work? Putting ourselves "out there" can be quite a challenge. However, putting ourselves on display is also how we get noticed, gain followers, and land amazing gigs. This weekend is a perfect time to step out and share/do/publish something that makes you nervous. Together we can harness the butterflies and make something great!

Here are a few links to explore in the process:

• Negotiation skills with Ted
• Focus on what is going right
• 20 inspiring blogs to encourage creativity
• The power of being venerable
• The thief of joy
• Sharing life details with readers

Collaborations: Ready, Set... Make It Happen!

By guest contributor Maddy Hague. Artwork by Nifty Swank.

I am a big proponent of collaboration in all forms. Collaborative projects are a huge creative outlet for me, as well as a great way of meeting new people and gaining new experiences. I have met some of my closest friends through all of the shoots and sites I've worked on. Through collaborations, I've been able to develop my reputation and have gained print and blog press.

At the start of any project, I run through the same process over and over again. I like to make sure whatever I throw myself into is not only worthwhile for myself, but for my collaborators and my audience as well.

Here's how I do it:

Develop the big idea
Whether it is a website or a shoot, I usually write down an "elevator pitch" for the project. An elevator pitch is a summary of the idea explained in a short, concise way. It should be short enough to be delivered in the length of time it takes to ride an elevator. It helps prevent me from being verbose, and thus obscuring my big idea. This is especially helpful when most pitches occur over email.

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