Why collaboration beats competition

As a new business owner you’re often encouraged to be wary of your competition rather than actively seek them out or, perish the thought, collaborate with them.

When I first started to network last year the concept was something very new to me. I’d never run my own business and networking was something that I’d just never had to do. I found the best way to go about it was to jump in headfirst and start visiting groups that were local to me and see who was out there. One thing I realised very quickly was that many networking groups had a ‘lock out’ policy, essentially meaning that only one member of each profession was able to be represented within the group. If a group I wanted to join already had a copywriter as member, I would therefore be ‘locked out’ and unable to join.

As someone who admittedly didn’t know a great deal about networking this did strike me as being a little odd. One of my first instincts upon setting up on my own was to try and actively seek out other copywriters to network and build connections with. After all who knows more about the trials and tribulations of the profession than a fellow copywriter? Who better to share ideas and experiences with than someone who is in the same field? To me this just seemed logical.

I’ve been lucky enough over the course of the past year to meet some fantastic copywriters, proofreaders and editors locally, who have been an amazing resource and support system in the first year of setting up my own business. We’ve been able to share experiences of potential pitfalls, as well as celebrate each other’s wins and pass on useful hints and tips. Meeting fellow writers has honestly been invaluable to me.

The way I look at it is, if you’re confident enough in your own skills and experience you should have nothing to fear from meeting individuals in the same profession. Whilst it certainly is true that other copywriters are my competition and could be vying for the same clients and quoting on the same jobs as me, I honestly don’t see this as an issue. I’m confident enough in my own skills and experience to know that I have far more to gain in terms of advice, support and professional development from building connections with other copywriters than I would ever have to lose. I’ve also found that, as I’ve got to know other writers, we have a clear idea of what our areas of strengths are and will often pass on clients to each other if we are too busy or if we feel that the proposed job would be a better match for someone else’s skillset.

One of the great things to come out of networking with others in your profession are the opportunities to collaborate on some fantastic projects. I’ve met some truly inspiring business owners and writers this year, which has resulted in some amazing projects that just wouldn’t have come about if I’d shut myself off from networking with other writers.

Ultimately my message is a simple one. We have the potential to achieve great things when we open ourselves up to collaborating with our peers rather than trying to compete with them. In the current Covid-19 pandemic we’re all discovering that now, more than ever before, collaboration has so much to offer us. It really is time to get out there and start collaborating! I guarantee you will be glad that you did.

If you’ve got a project that you’d like to collaborate on, you can email me at julie@lemondropcopywriting.co.uk or visit my Services page.