Competition is Out -Collaboration is In
If you are a young entrepreneur, or aspiring entrepreneur for that matter, sometime in your journey you will find that there is someone who is doing the same thing or had a very similar idea to yours. Yes, she will probably seem way more advanced and successful that you are, and that may send you to bed crying your eyes out hating the entrepreneurial world and your life in general.
Wake up Ms. Career Girl: the “new” competition is good! In fact this new discovery is an amazing step forward: now you know that there is indeed a solid market for your idea or service and people make a living out of it. But much more importantly, it now opens up a whole new world of collaboration activities for your new initiative – you can work together to reach greater audiences, you can guest blog, create joint products, recommend each other and so much more. In short you get to impact more people.
Here are 4 reasons why collaboration is the new black:
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It allows you to stick to your strengths.
As the old saying goes, “Jack of all trades, master to none”. With collaboration, you can bring together the “masters” of all trades you need to the get the job done, without compromising on the quality. You will join forces with other who have a different skills set, and may complement you in your weaker spots.
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It diversifies your offering .
Getting a fresh perspective on your offer can result in major breakthroughs, and present you with ideas and solutions you never thought of before.
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Do more with less.
In a way collaboration is a way to leverage your initiative without breaking the bank. Each of you can pull in different resources, different connections and opportunities, thus magnify the success factor and the outreach of your efforts.
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It creates a mastermind support system
People who do what you do normally tend to share similar values and goals as you. You can support each other in the mutual journey. Talking to somebody “who gets it” is a great value in its own, but getting some solid advice out of it – is even so much greater.
Collaboration is The Way
The old school model of fighting each other as competition with prices is… well old! It’s time to embrace a new era approach when 1+1 equals so much more than 2! No one explains it better than Apple CEO Tim Cook in this short video:
Images:
Collaboration Chris Lott