QUIT FEARING COLLABORATION AND GROW YOUR BIZ FASTER

When it comes to building a business or an online “tribe”, I will always say that you can’t do it on your own! No matter how much money you have to throw at your biz, if you don’t work well with others you’re going to sink sooner or later. OMG that sounds so grim… okay, maybe you won’t sink but you will grow slower and you will most definitely feel the freeze of isolation.

Collaboration is a word that makes many people get all sorts of butterflies!
Firstly, not everyone has the same understanding of the word – yes my friends, we are required to communicate clearly with one another in order to get the most out of our collabs and in order to avoid any #AwksFeels.

Secondly, many people struggle with confidence and knowing who to approach and how to raise the subject or pitch an idea. Cue the #WhyWouldTheyWantToWorkWithMe syndrome…. more on that further down… stick with me.

Truthfully. We have to all get over ourselves at some point and embrace collaboration.

Why Collaborate?

When we collaborate with others we open ourselves up to getting in front of a brand new audience. It should be the audience that you want, your ideal customer, but maybe you just haven’t had the chance to get in front of them yet. For the most part, collaboration means a mutually beneficial arrangement, generally at no monetary cost (but not always). Can you see how invaluable this can be for any biz, startup or beyond?

I worked with a fab mix of businesses for baby Jude’s Baptism. It’s always an honour to highlight the works of such talented bizmums at my events.

Cookies by @dough.re.mi. Personalised straws with toppers + cross cake topper by @ohsunnydayparty. Macarons by @mysweetmacaron. Chocolate favour @printandparty.

Personalised Baptism candle by @bespokebabyco. Timber cake topper by @_zilvi

But without a doubt, the biggest benefit of a great collab is relationships. People know people. Great people hang with great people and word of mouth is everything!

My guest speaker and confidence expert, Jodie Bruce Clarke and I met at one of three Mums With Hustle Meet and Eat events in 2016.

Nerves aside. There is another group of people who fear collaboration for a whole myriad of other reasons. I’ve seen these mostly in the workplace but also amongst entrepreneurs and startups.

Here are 6 common reasons why people fear collaboration. Do a mental check along the way and see if any of these apply to you or those you know.

6 Common Reasons Why People Fear Collaboration

1) They want all the glory. Know any of these people? Yep, collaboration scares the pants off them because they fear that they’ll be seen as “working less” or having to share the credit. They don’t like to participate in anything that won’t highlight them as the #AwesomeSauce.

2) They think they’re the smartest and they can do it on their own.

3) They think they can get to the result faster if they do it alone. #ThatsSoSilly

4) They are a perfectionist – too afraid to trust anything with others (cue the micro manager). I’d rather execute 10 things at 70% than only get out 1 thing at 100%. Pace and momentum matters. Perfection will hold you back my friends!

5) Insecurity. Those that struggle with insecurity are often threatened by the strengths and success of others. They question their own worthiness and suffer from the old #WhyWouldTheyWantToWorkWithMe and #WhatDoIHaveToOffer syndromes.

6) They’re genuinely shy. They’re letting their own social anxieties rule their actions (or inactivity). These are the people who watch from the sidelines and say they want to collaborate… but they never bite the bullet and ever actually ask. Don’t worry, if this is you, I have a great resource to help you with your confidence!

It’s time to get honest and self aware. If you did a mental tick of either of the above boxes, and you’d like to change your way of thinking, keep reading…

9 Reasons Why You Need To Get Comfortable Collaborating

1) It’s more fun! You’ll enjoy what you do, so much more. Surround yourself with the right people and you’ll love what you do! You’ll also find that you make great new friends. Friends that walk a similar path in life are hard to come by.

2) When you work on your own, you only have your own thoughts, ideas, fears and frustrations to either make you or break you! You’ll have a broadened perspective. When you invite other people to participate you’ll see things from their point of view, things that you would have never seen before. By adding in diversity and different perspectives into the types of people that you’re collaborating with, you’ll quickly grow your knowledge base. If you want some serious BIG, out of the box ideas, check out my podcast interview with Alli Price.

3) It’s that old cliche, two heads are better than one. Yes! It’s true. When you open yourself up to working with others, particularly if they are in a different area or niche to you, you are opening yourself up to a whole range of skills that you don’t necessarily have yourself. We don’t need to know everything ourselves, believe it or not! We NEED others to fill those gaps in our knowledge or skills. We can be that person for them and they can be that person for us. Don’t waste time learning how to do things on your own, if it can be done with collaboration. Know what you do well and know what you don’t do well. Being transparent with your collaboration partners will help make sure that everyone is taking on the right roles to bring about wins! It’s the opportunity to make your product, your giveaway, your service, your project, your biz, your event, SO much better!

Me, speaking to a room packed full of bizmums at the SBB Flatlay and Collaborate event by @themamasorority. My topic… Instagram, of course!

4) When you start collaborating, you notice that your whole world opens up to more quality people and relationships because greatness attracts more greatness! Have you noticed the way that really successful people seem to have a whole tribe of people that support them? Constantly shout them out? Do collaborations and giveaways with them? You may think it’s some secret clique, but it’s not! It’s simply that quality people hang with quality people and like attracts like. This is exactly how Adrienne at Stylish Bump managed to build a successful pregnancy blog and grow her Insta tribe to over 190K!

5) Increase your ability to be more flexibility and adaptable – the ideas of others can sometimes force you to grow and pivot and that’s a good thing! Without it, you will remain in your comfort zone. Change is the only means for growth. Check out this example.

6) RESULTS! You'll get more done because you are essentially being held accountable by the other party. You’ll all benefit from the creative genius because it is being shared across different platforms, and with a broader audience, than what you could have reached on your own. Here’s a brilliant example of the latter in action!

7) Collaboration builds reputation and credibility. Yes! When others decide to work alongside you and share your goodness with their community or customer base, it gives you great credibility. I know I don’t take it lightly when I work with anyone. They are all people I respect and I most certainly am grateful and humbled when I am approached by others to add value to their communities too.

8) Being able to have a larger impact and make a difference is a HUGE reason to collaborate.

The beautiful collaboration of @sheis_sarahjane and @shanghaisuzylipsticks to honour the memory of baby Charlotte Rose and support the work of Bears of Hope, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support. All profits of this lipstick went to BOH.

Sarah Morrissey, owner of @littlerockersradio with Reid and his Dads, Michael and Jarrad from @the_real_dads_of_melbourne team up to raise awareness and show support for rednoseday.com.au

Have I missed any reasons out? I’d love to hear about it so please leave me a comment here or over on my Instagram @mumswithhustle via one of my posts.

If you have identified that it’s your mindset that is holding you back from collaborating, episode 28 of my podcast is just for you!

There’s even a freebie to get you started on your collaboration journey 😃 To access my 17 easy ways to connect and collaborate, just pop your email address down below and I’ll send it to you.

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Xx
Tracy