There is a synergy out there in the small business world, which helps us all, and that is the power of giving. As an independent consultant for 10+ years, one of my missions is to help "small business get more business" through effective marketing initiatives. But more than that when I meet people, even those who don't utilize my services, I like to be able to provide them with a good source of information, a good connection or even a good referral.

I find this mindset very much a part of the entrepreneurial world. It's inspiring as an independent consultant, to get the support and encouragement of like-minded individuals, some of which may even come from your competition. By us helping one another it brings more credibility to our collective field and raises our profile in the business world.

It is a slightly different environment then the corporate world, but I think they are slowly learning from us. Nowadays, through mergers and acquisitions, many corporations are forced into forming alliances with their once perceived competitors to be an even more powerful force.

Independent Business Owners have realized the power of alliances to leverage their business for quite sometime. For me in particular this has been a key ingredient in my business growth and success. If you are a new business owner, I encourage you to tap into this act of aligning and helping one another.

Whatever you put out there, you get back. If you are respectful, helpful and supportive of others, people will just naturally give that back to you.

I'm sure you've heard the phrase, "what goes around, comes around". The same holds true in the act of giving in the business world, and by using this principle, not only do you feel good, but you have helped others too. Here are some thoughts on putting it into practice:

Give Without Expectations - When you pass on information or a referral to someone, don't do it with the motive to get it back in return, you may be disappointed if that is your only reason for doing it. If you do it without this expectation in mind, it will just naturally come back to you in the most delightful way, but you have to do it for the right reasons and the sincere desire to help others.

Support One Another - By us supporting each other, we are building the credibility and profile of the independent, entrepreneurial and small business world. Support other small business owners, by purchasing their services and products. Find out more about what other small businesses have to offer, and if you have received good service from another small business owner, take the time to tell others and pass their name around.

Be Active in Building Your Network - Many times when we are busy with work, (and I'm guilty of this at times), we tend to drop off on our networking and fail to keep in touch with people as often. Yet this is the time we need to reach out, get support, and even have someone assist you with components of a larger project to lessen your load. What happens is when you stop networking and your assignment is complete, you almost have to start from scratch again. Networking, making connections, utilizing others' services and keeping in touch is critical to business success.

Learn From Others - You can always learn from other people. As an independent consultant, you need to get other perspectives. We don't always have the advantage of working with a team in the workplace, we just have ourselves, therefore we need to reach out to others, ask for their advice, listen and learn from them - even in areas that you feel you are an expert.

I strongly recommend, developing your own informal or formal "small business advisory group" made up of people from representing different businesses. Tap into their expertise to get their advice and perspective. Sometimes people who aren't as close to your industry can come up with some fantastic ideas.

Don't Abuse People's Time - Many entrepreneurs are happy to provide information and advice to others, but be careful not to abuse their time. We are all in business and our goal is to run a profitable business. We need to be aware of when we are asking for too much at no cost, it's not fair to put others in that position. Be realistic in your requests.

We're In the People Business - We are all selling different services or product, but when it gets right down to it, we are really in the "people" business, providing a service or a product.

Think of an experience in a restaurant, you could have a so-so meal, with excellent customer service and you would consider coming back, but if you had good meal with terrible customer service, you would probably never go back. People make the difference in the experience.

It's people that render services. It's people that buy from people. It's people that refer people. No matter what you provide as a service or produce, eventually it comes down to people.

Winston Churchill is quoted as saying, "We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give". Practice this philosophy and you will discover the "magic of giving" in today's business world.