The energy of collaboration helped me take my business and turn it into an empire, so I’m very excited about this topic.
Once upon a time, when I had my first business as a physical therapist, I operated under the assumption that to be successful, I had to do it all on my own. And I did. And that was no fun.
My inner critic was a pain in the ass back then:
Laura, you should know this!
Laura, why do you need help to do this, you should be able to do it on your own.
OMG, you want a recipe for burnout? I had it.
When the true spirit of collaboration graced my life, my world opened up in ways I could’ve never dreamed. Here are some of the tips and mindsets I’ve used to build collaborations, and help them evolve into bigger, better, badassisier business growth opportunitiess.
10 Ways to Leverage Collaboration for Better Business
- Curate your best five business partners this year. Who’s making an effort to lift you up and reach out? Who in your world gives you that other-level energy boost and experience? Instead of trying to meet ten new people, pour into those five and take your relationship to the next level.Write down a few names right now. Who is in your world like this now?
- Create share partnerships for email blasts. What does your partner have going on? Can you do an email blast or social post for them in exchange for one you need to share? Creating relationships comes first, but then sharing for each other creates a huge increased buzz and probably sales when it comes from someone who can genuinely talk about the value you and your offer bring to the table.Write down a future offering you want help with and plan to email one of your partners with that request. Side note: Affiliate partnerships are badass, not only for these kinds of shares but because there’s passive income involved, too!
- Expert workshops for each other’s audiences: Where can you add value to someone’s audience? Find ways to bring your expertise to someone else’s audience to add more value. Make sure you pick dates for each of you to present, create and agree to guidelines, where and how you’ll share the event, and what each of you will be presenting and allowed to share. For instance, what kind of call to action can you share at the end?Write down some workshop topics you love presenting on and maybe a few ideas of where those topics fit in your partner’s agenda this year.
- Podcast or blog guesting and group podcasts or blogs. Choose a topic and invite five experts to do a panel on a podcast, or provide a quote for a blog. That’s five experts sharing the blog or podcast when it’s live. The power of those shares will be amazing.
- Step up as a co-author in a book or lead an expert book collaboration with your colleagues. This is my company’s specialty. Bringing together all the unique voices and tools on a topic creates a very powerful book, but it also creates a powerful community of experts. Our book communities have moved on to do online summits, in-person events, workshops, and other books, and as a result of these projects, they have created new businesses.
- Networking collaborations. My example is the Brave Healer Power Hour, a private, five-person networking Zoom with the goal of making introductions for you to help you build your business. You can schedule one of those HERE.
Where else are you networking where there’s a collaborative spirit and true passion for making introductions and connections that build your business? If you’re networking in groups where all they do is pitch their stuff, you’ll burn out fast. If you’re networking in collaborative-minded groups that understand the power of authentic relationship building, it’s a game changer.
I wrote a whole book about this. Grab a copy of Networking for Healers, and bask in several authentic relationship-building tools that will change your business world. You can get it HERE.
- Host a collaborative author event. If any of you have tried to do a solo book signing at a venue and sat there at a table by yourself, you know how that can be. What if you network with a few other local authors and support each other with a collaborative event? It’s better for the venue and better for all of you.
I wrote a blog about book events. Read that HERE.
- Have you been building your community around your business? If you feel like you’re out there all alone and you’re craving getting together for more conversations and collaborations, then why not start a Facebook group or LinkedIn group where you can build a community around your topic? Leading a community isn’t for everyone. However, it’s a powerful way to begin when you’re curating the energy of collaboration.I have two public Facebook groups you’re welcome to join.
My community for healer entrepreneurs is HERE.
The one for writers specifically is HERE.
I love creating posts that ask questions. When all of us answer, we help each other learn and grow.
- As a side on the previous tip, one amazing way I’ve collaborated with my partners is to be part of their groups and engage on their posts. We do that for each other. It improves the algorithm and helps other people see the posts. So how can you be a “share partner” with someone? Where would your engagement help them most and where do you need it most?
- Collaboration over competition. You may have some internal resistance to meeting a partner who does the exact same thing as you. Not every relationship works. However, when you’re in the abundant mindset of collaboration over competition, it opens doors you may not have even considered before. Be curious. Ask lots of questions. Give before you ask. The more you build a relationship with who seems to be a competitor, the more likely you’ll find a place to serve and vice versa.
I intend to continue to build the power of collaboration in my business. One way I do that is offering resources to my community. You can grab thousands in training and resources in the Brave Healer Resources Vault HERE.
I can’t wait to hear how collaboration changes your life!
