The Power of Collaboration

You're sitting on a great business idea, but you don't want to tell anyone in case they run off and do it themselves. It’s a very real concern of many entrepreneurs and start-ups. Well, we encourage you to think again, to take your chances and share your idea with someone who could really help you get that puppy off the ground!

It’s our view that great success comes from collaboration and our story is testament that there is power in collaboration. 

First things first, our international virtual marketing agency is called Two Four One for a reason. Two of us, Vicki and Laura x 2 = Four. We figured that by working together we each doubled our impact, creativity and effectiveness; that’s what collaboration does. Far more powerful than two people working independently. We have shared values and shared goals, a common target of a brilliant outcome for our clients, One at a time.

Anyhoo, enough about us! Just suffice to say, a team is stronger than individuals.

So what of this age-old debate, Collaboration vs. Competition. 

We often see start-ups fearful of sharing their lifelong dream with others. They feel they need to get things up and running before they can share their ideas or invite others to work alongside them. That leaves you working alone. 

New entrepreneurs ask: When is the right time to collaborate? And when should you hold back? 

It’s a great question that helps you to think bigger. It helps to identify fear.

Often as business owners, we're fearful of competition, we're fearful of letting go of our ideas so they can fly, we’re fearful of so many things that stop us from progressing our business.

If that’s you, ask yourself this. Do you think the market is too small for more than one good idea? Do you think there’s ‘only so much’ to go round and there’s a chance that you won’t get your fair share of the market?  Do you believe that if you let go of some control you’ll lose everything? 

It’s normal to have these thoughts and you’re in good company, many people think this.

Now ask yourself this. Is this belief stopping me from moving forward? Do you know it to be absolutely true? Is it possible that your concerns are coming from limiting beliefs, beliefs that you can shift so they don’t hold power over you? 

Often this fear is conquered with a shift in perspective.

Have you considered that the market you’re working in is not as small as you first thought? Consider the possibilities of what’s out there and how far your market can reach. When we start to understand how much further we can reach globally, the question of collaboration vs competition fades away. We would say when in doubt, collaborate! There is enough for everyone and there always will be.

We're from a small island nation and it’s true for any small town or city that we think as far as we see; we think that's our entire market although it's actually so much more. 

Collaboration means you can join with someone to increase your market so you both extend further than you thought you could. There's a lot of power in that especially when you come into it with the focus on serving your customers better and helping them to achieve their dreams; that’s when the magic happens. 

For more collaboration insights and to help motivate you to succeed, tap here to tune in to Level-Up Your Marketing with Vicki & Laura podcast or listen on your favourite player.