By Charlie Fenwick
Collaboration takes courage.
You have to compromise on your control but the return can be overwhelming.
Our 5 top tips will encourage you to explore partnerships that will help your Micro Business (MB) succeed.
Would you get bored if you ate the same meals every single day?
I presume the answer is yes.
So why approach your business the same, every single day?
It is refreshing to work alongside another like-minded individual, as you can appreciate not only how they approach their working day but also how they respond to various obstacles within their businesses.
Whilst you can read endless blogs, websites and books, if you are not discussing, sharing and communicating the information within them, the benefits are limited.
It is vital that you get outside of your own head in order to gain a fresh perspective. Reaching out to others can not only trigger your creativity but also allow you to review your strategies more objectively.
It’s not always what you know, but rather who you know.
Successful entrepreneurs share 1 common interest, Networking. They continuously meet new people to organically grow their list of contacts and associates.
To be a high achiever within your field of business, you need to be consistently communicating and subsequently forming alliances to prevent your business from growing stale.
Source an MB that holds similar values e.g. a beauty therapist that also offers flexible/later hours to accommodate working mums or a company that similarly pushes charitable causes. Partner up for an event and as a result, you are able to utilise an additional service (that you don’t personally provide) without having to go through the process of training courses to learn how to do it.
Furthermore, you will have caught the attention of consumers who may not have otherwise known of your brand and from here you have a greater possibility of directing more traffic to your business.
Collaboration is Education.
Meeting new people will not only broaden your mindset but as a result, it will make you more knowledgeable. Every interaction outside of your immediate circle will teach you something valuable that you are able to modify to fit your business model.
Whether it be learning a new technology or developing a greater understanding of how to reach more potential consumers, don’t underestimate the power of working alongside other people.
Want to double your budget whilst reducing costs? Collaborate.
Partnering with other businesses for a dual event will not only elevate consumer recognition of your brand but it also means that all parties involved will contribute into the marketing fund; which will be a smaller individual contribution than if you were funding these expenses on your own.
Did anyone else’s parents say this to them, or just ours?
Either way, it’s as fitting for your business mantra as it is your personal life.
No one knows the answer to everything and there will be hurdles that seem higher than others for you. Hence why it is useful to share your problems with other like-minded individuals, as you can only benefit from an external point of view.
Crowdsourcing sites are useful tools to expand your services, ideas and possibilities. Sites such as Trend Watching, Chaordix and Designhill are all platforms that let you work collaboratively with other companies to excel your business and obtain goods.
We hope that our Top 5 Tips resonated with you and that you appreciate ‘Collaboration’ really is the tool your MB is missing.
It is empowering to work alongside strong-minded individuals. Furthermore, building one another collectively will strengthen the micro-business community that surrounds you.
