If you’ve followed me for a while now, you’ll know that I work closely with the talented creative director and designer, Julia, from Luminous Lines.

Julia “slid into my DMs” back in 2019, when The Strategy Studio was in its VERY early stages, and we hit it off instantly. She was looking for someone to help provide brand strategy and copywriting services to her design clients, and I (if we’re being completely honest) was still figuring out what in the world my services even were! 

Fast forward almost 4 years and we’ve since collaborated on dozens of branding and website development projects together, we combine our services to provide monthly marketing support to several retainer clients, and we speak via Zoom multiple times per week. 

BUT… we’d never met in person—until January 2023 when I travelled to LA. WILD! During our time together we did plenty of reminiscing on the projects we’ve had the opportunity to collaborate on. 

While working side by side (such a novelty when we’re used to screen sharing over Zoom!), Julia and I had a bit of a “pinch me” moment while reflecting on just how powerful our collaborations had been for both of our businesses. And to think I almost didn’t accept Julia’s connection request because I was intimidated by how much more established she was in business! Oh how I would have missed out. 

Whenever I ask my own clients what holds them back from networking with others within their circle of influence (complementary businesses who have contact with your ideal clients), the most common response is “But what would I say?”

Well let’s remove that roadblock, shall we? 

Here’s a templated message you could use to reach out and ask for the connection. 

Hi (name), 

“I’ve long admired your designs / shop / product / services from afar and wanted to reach out and connect. I’d love to learn more about your services / products so I can potentially refer some of my clients your way. It would be great to also chat about potential collaboration opportunities? Let me know if you have capacity right now and are interested, and we can find a time to connect via Zoom.”

It’s as easy as that. No need to overthink it. 

My 2 questions for you: 

• Who are 3 business owners in your circle of influence you’ve long respected and maybe even dreamed a little of the magic you could create together?

• What’s the worst thing that could happen if you reached out to them? (Hint: Having your ego bruised in the case that they say “No, sorry” is not an outcome that will have a negative impact on your business, so that answer doesn’t count!)

Just copy/paste the above template message and you’re ready to go! Nothing stopping you now!