A few years ago I was talking to a few bloggers about running blogs yourself, about having business partners and about dealing with creating enough content and time in the day to run your blog.
Something was said that stuck with me. Working in a partnership is not giving half of your money away, it’s leveraging a set of variables to be more successful.
The Power of Collaboration
That has stayed with me ever since. Instead of struggling on your own, find someone with a set of complimentary skills so you can both be more successful working together.
Now, a partnership is not something you should jump into just because you know of another blogger who lives around the corner. I’m wary of convenience partnerships, as well as partnerships amongst friends (because business and friendships may not mix).
For me to ever consider a partnership, the person would have to meet my dream team requirements – all of them. We would have to have similar ethics about what we should and shouldn’t do in the business. We should have clarity on finances and risks associated with the project.
Have you ever collaborated with someone? How did you know they were the right person? Did you formalise it in writing?
Yes, it’s the yin and yang I guess. Sometimes two heads really are better than one. I’m currently seeing a lot of collaborations on Insta that seem to work really well. Interesting post (and food for thought).
Oh, what sort of IG collabs?
Totally agree. There are times where I have dreamed of a personal assistant to do all the groundwork but overall, I am happy on my own.
I dream of affording a VA. And I’ve seriously wondered what I can train my husband to do for me!
Agree completely. I’m a huge fan of collaboration. I’ve been toying with the idea of bringing someone on for the new business and possibly the blog but haven’t found the right long term person.
Well, you have been pretty busy with other things right now! I have an entire blog I would love to create if I had a VA or partner. It’s more the idea/overall concept than the work that I’m attached to though.
Working on a big collaboration at the moment. 🙂
Excellent to hear!
Collaboration can indeed be powerful. I think a lot of communication and constantly making sure that everyone’s on the same path are both key.
And yes, everything needs to be documented and agreed upon.
And knowing when people can communicate around their other commitments – that’s pretty key!
I have collaborated before and we didn’t formalise it in writing. That said there was a pretty lengthy email set of conversations about what each of us expected. In the end it all ended when the project did but I loved having someone else involved, especially someone with such different skills to me. I miss it actually.
I really reckon collaboration is the future. It is a much more ‘yin’ (and female) way of working as opposed to the competitive ‘yang’ environment most business runs on.
I am a very collaborative person at work. It’s amazing how often that is seen as a threat and challenge – and I’ve worked across a lot of industries.