“I didn’t get any business from the family solicitor in my chapter,” said Harry, a will writer. “I thought it was understandable, because they have a will writer in their company.

“It was only when I had an in-depth one-to-one with the other member it became obvious they could feed me work.

“You see, they were not set up for home visits. All of the clients who wanted to make wills, or to set up Lasting Powers of Attorney, had to come to their offices.

“Some of these clients were quite old and frail, and could not get there.

“It was then that Sue, the family lawyer, realised it would be great to be able to pass on that business to me, because an important part of how I work is being able to offer home visits.

“It was a win-win: I got more business and Sue was able to keep her elderly clients happy. In addition, she could pass me referrals, and I in turn could pass any family legal business that emerged from those conversations.”

Another example of such co-operation is a chapter of mine where there are two digital marketing agencies. They offer almost identical services – websites, SEO, PPC and so on – but they aim at different ends of the market.

Whereas one is focused on start-ups and SMEs, the other is used to dealing with the demands of larger organisations, where the requirements usually stretch into, for example, TV and radio advertising.

Again, they are very happy to belong to the same chapter, to share information, and, where appropriate, to pass clients between them. If this supportive ethos appeals to you, please get in touch – [email protected] – so I can point you in the direction of a chapter that has business to pass to you right now.

By Alyson Roach