No business is just a business, and it’s never small – if we talk about creating opportunities, innovating, being brave to start out, working hard, being persistent… those are all qualities of great people and entrepreneurs who are the backbone of every society. However, speaking of small businesses in the context of revenue, a number of employees and resources – there are ways for small businesses to organize and collaborate in order to achieve their full potential and become bigger in this context as well.
There’s a famous children’s book in which many small fish organize and swim together to appear as one big fish so they don’t end up like pray to actual big fish, and there’s also a viral meme of a team of small fish chasing away the big one, with the message “don’t panic, organise”. Both these are great illustrations because that’s what doing business is like – swimming in the big, unpredictable ocean with many threats and opportunities. And that’s also what collaboration and teamwork are about – in many cases, you need to team up to survive, and even in cases when it’s not a matter of “make it or break it” for your business, working together will help everyone end up stronger and more successful.
That’s why the whole point of today’s blog post is: Follow this tips, go out there and grow your business through collaboration!
1. Join Different Local or Virtual Startup and Small Business Communities
Maybe you’re a bookkeeper or a copywriter, carpenter or a web designer… it doesn’t matter, because teaming up in local groups will be beneficial for everyone. There’s experience and knowledge exchange (even if two businesses are completely different industries, they still have some shared challenges and points, like growing the team, following the regulations). This also works when it comes to virtual communities that can be spread across the globe. Finally, besides motivation, knowledge exchange, support… don’t forget the power of referrals!
Check out sites like Meetup.com, different Facebook groups, Twitter – or visit coworking spaces in your area.
2. What goes around, comes around
Remember to pay it forward – successful collaboration and networking is a two-way street. Whenever you can, help other small businesses. Besides scoring some “karma points”, each time you bring value and opportunity to the people around you, you’ll get referrals, support and more business for yourself, as well.
3. Harness the Collaboration Within Your Company, and in Other Business Relations as Well
Besides supporting other small businesses and adopting the mindset of supporting the local community, remember to nurture collaboration, knowledge and skills exchange within your company across different teams as well!
Tools like CollaboraZon can help you exchange messages, share files, comments, create events and much more. This can be a way to share the resources like books, tips and different files with other business owners, as well as within your company. Once you get more clients, they enable you to work and collaborate better with them as well!