Collaboration can take your business to another level. Watching it happen in my life and business was like finally finding the treasure after searching for that X on the map.
There are some obvious ways to collaborate in business, but also some not-so-obvious ways that may just change everything for you. Collaboration is about community building. And that’s why it’s so magical.
I was a collaborator in general and participated in about four collaborative books before March 20, 2020. I knew the power of a book collaboration (among other sorts) but wasn’t thrilled with the results. When the Universe woke me with a dream that morning in March—to invite my healer friends to teach self-healing tools in a book—I knew this was important. I didn’t realize how important until later.
Five weeks after I made the invitation to my healer community to be in the book called The Ultimate Guide to Self-Healing, we birthed it to a #1 Amazon bestseller in multiple categories, and the Brave Healer Productions empire was born. There were eventually five volumes of that book, and as a company, we’re celebrating 73 Amazon bestselling books and a community of over 1000 authors now.
Maybe you’re wondering if, instead of collaboration, this blog should be about listening to that magical call of your intuition or aligning with your joy—both things I’d practiced diligently for years before 2020. But it’s the community-building magic of collaboration that continues to create magic for me.
I’m not only grateful, but convinced that if you grab hold of this idea in bigger and more creative ways, things will get magical for you, too.
Books are the main and legacy-leaving way my business thrives on collaboration, but those aren’t the only ways I’ve incorporated smart, effective, and business-building kinds of collaborative projects, strategies, and ideas.
I’m going to inspire you with twenty ideas for collaborating and building your community. I hope you grab hold of at least one or two and make some magic in your business this year!
1. Join a collaborative book.
I can’t help but give you this one first. If you’ve been in a book project that didn’t turn out great or left you disappointed, I promise you that if you join our Brave Healer community this year, you’ll have the best collaborative book experience on the planet. A book collaboration done the right way, with community and business-building in mind, is one fantastic way to start this journey!
2. Join a networking group.
Do your homework, find the right group, and business magic will be made. Effective networking means members get that networking isn’t just getting together and passing business cards. They get that networking is about collaboration, among other things. Build your networking relationships to the next level this year—start collaborating.
3. Create a workshop.
Find complementary business partners and create an amazing workshop you couldn’t do on your own. Maybe they’re in that networking group you attend? Or that book project you joined! I love teaching collaborations because your clients get much more value from the workshop when multiple experts come together to present!
4. Start a new business.
This is the same idea as number 3, but maybe this time, you create a whole new event, project, or business together. This is a more complicated idea that you’ll need some legal advice for, but don’t count this powerful option out! With the right partner, you can literally create world-changing businesses.
5. Moderate each other’s meetings.
Here’s an idea I love that I don’t see people taking advantage of too often. Recently, I invited one of my community members to assist me by moderating my live Zoom event. I can’t tell you what a relief it was to have someone as savvy as her helping to moderate the chat and essentially ensure community-building was happening while I ran the show. Multitasking this is hard, y’all. Get help from the right person this year, and watch how that relationship builds and creates magic.
6. Co-author a book.
Different than a multiple-author book collaboration, in the same way you’d think about coming together for a workshop or business idea, write the book on the topic together. Not only is there more value for the reader, but your book launch is way more fun because you’re sharing each other’s email audiences and platforms.
7. Share offers via email.
A JV sharing partnership or collaboration is badass. I see big influencers doing this all the time. This requires the right partner and an aligned mission so that what you’re offering is serving your audience in new, awesome ways. How could your partner serve your audience in ways you don’t? And vice versa? Sharing those offers in your email newsletter can be game-changing for both partners. Make sure you come to clear agreements on when, how, and how often those will go down.
8. Interview each other.
Podcast or YouTube show guesting collaborations are also badass. Same idea as number seven—how will your message serve someone else’s audience, and vice-versa? Create valuable, actionable shows for each other and then be a phenomenal sharing partner by putting that show on your social and email platforms.
9. Write a foreword, back-cover review, or quote for their book.
I love doing this for people I support and who’ve been awesome partners. There’s collaboration, and there’s support for your best collaborative partners. This is one way you can support and collaborate at the same time!
10. Sponsor their event.
If you choose the right partners, a sponsorship collaboration might be a business-boosting move for you. Does that person serve the audience you serve? Would sponsoring their event help you get exposure to new potential clients or business partners? If yes, go for it! Make sure you’re clear on the details of what you’re buying with your sponsorship dollars.
11. Support a non-profit.
When your business offering supports a non-profit or charity with its sales, that’s a collaboration you can build on. This isn’t any non-profit; it’s a person you’ve developed a relationship with who you’re passionate about supporting. It’s someone who’s doing something in the world you’re passionate about speaking about. And that non-profit founder supports you and your mission in the same way.
12. Sit on a board of directors.
Collaborating by supporting as a board member was a new avenue for me this past year and a powerful one. I was able to create new relationships with passionate, world-changing people and support the organization at the same time. This is a combination of networking, service, and masterminding at its best.
13. BETA-test a colleague’s program.
When you serve in the capacity of signing up for a colleague’s BETA program, you’re collaborating in such an important way. I’m still grateful for the BETA participants in the first Brave Healer workshop way back when. They’re part of my success today because they trusted me and were willing to give important feedback and help me build the course over time. Some of those participants have become lifelong friends.
14. Run a community-building event.
Holding a workshop, event, or summit is one thing, but making it a collaborative, community-building offering is quite another. Events are cool, but how are the participants involved? How are they seen and heard? This idea is about creating collaboration with your community, who may or may not be business partners but will tell their friends about your event if they feel it’s valuable to them. Inclusion and collaboration are for everyone, and you may not realize the power of it until you’re sitting with your first room of 100 on Zoom instead of two
15. Do a collaborative blog.
Some of you know I’m a fan of blogging, but I love it when I get together with my expert healer colleagues and collaborate. For much the same reason as coming together to create workshops, books, and businesses is awesome, a collaborative blog gives huge value to the readers! I’ll often put a call to action out to my healer community for quotes on a topic, which I showcase in the blog!
16. Collaborative communication with the client’s other providers.
The best example of this is my own finance team. Even though my CPA, financial advisor, and bookkeeper all have their own businesses unrelated to each other, they come together to chat about me, their mutual client, for my benefit. That’s some badass collaboration that helps me feel amazing when it comes to my finances and my business. How can you communicate with your client’s other providers to provide exceptional service?
17. Volunteer for an event.
Maybe you want to speak at a particular event you’ve been watching for a while. Volunteering to help at said event might just be your ticket to standing on that stage eventually. Not only will you be involved in the event, but your service and relationship building as a result will go a long way to helping you be noticed when the organizers are planning next year’s event. This might be a long-game collaboration, but well worth the effort and time. The other reason to volunteer is to build relationships with new people and watch as the team of volunteers makes something great happen together.
18. Give your friends the stage.
I talked about swapping interviews, but this one is a little different. I bring a guest expert into our Monday Morning Breakthroughs networking event two times a month. But I also try to shout out other business partners any time someone shows up to a meeting and give them a moment to share what they have going on. When can you help someone by giving them the stage? This is a powerful collaboration that builds trust and long, powerful relationships.
19. Give a shout-out or testimonial.
I love to collaborate by shouting out people who are awesome, who’ve given me amazing service, or who’ve supported me in all the different ways. Shout out your friends, give testimonials in front of others, and otherwise give your business friends the stage with your kind words when possible. Make gratitude through spoken and written testimonials a regular collaborative practice, and watch the magic you make as a result.
20. Celebrate with a party.
There’s nothing I love more than collaborating with others to celebrate. Who cares what the reason is—invite your friends, colleagues, family, and partners to celebrate with you. Be the reason the vibe is raised, and people are celebrated for who they are and what they’re doing in the world. Come together to plan these. See what creative collaborations you can come up with. Surprise someone with a celebration.
Holy cow, that’s a lot of collaborative badassery! I love it! What idea are you going to take and run with this year? What kind of collaborative magic can you make? There’s no limit to what can happen for your business when you move into the energy and mindset of collaboration. Notice your habit of dropping into a competition mindset and pause yourself. That outdated, unhelpful energy is going to bring you down. Time for something new, different, better, and more aligned!
At Brave Healer Productions, everything we do is in the spirit of collaboration, including marketing all our amazing programs. Whether you’re writing in one of our expert collaborative books, writing in our Brave Healer Writer’s Circle sessions, teaching a course through our Brave Healer Transformation School online course platform, or attending the Monday Morning Breakthroughs networking event, we welcome you and support your mission! We can’t wait to meet you!
