The Power of Collaboration: Don’t Underestimate It!

What do a real estate agent, window treatment specialist, and a marketing consultant have in common? Probably nothing at a quick glance. Upon thinking about it for a while, you might come up with this: “the window treatment specialist puts window treatments in the home the real estate agent is selling and the marketing consultant is marketing the home the real estate agent is trying to sell”. That’s possible, but what really happened went beyond the scope of what the three of us imagined.

On a great sunny day in North Carolina, the three of us were just relaxing and talking about business in general. The conversation then turned to ways that we could help each other. How could we cross promote our businesses? Was there some way we could partner together? After an hour of brainstorming, we had an enormous list of ideas and went through them one by one on how we could execute them, what would be needed, and how that would benefit all three of us.

The result: 2 new partners in crime that are dedicated to helping me grow my business just as much as I’m dedicated to helping them grow their business.

Lessons learned: Don’t underestimate the power of collaboration. 3 brains promoting a project is simply better than one. It’s triple the marketing with 1/3 of the cost.

You never know who in your network can help you get to the next step in your business. Who would’ve thought a real estate agent, window treatment specialist, and a marketing consultant can come together on a project?

All this would have never happened if it wasn’t for networking. I met the real estate agent at a networking event last year and the window treatment specialist at a networking event in 2009. Constantly strive to build your network and keep in touch. With the latest technology, it’s easier than ever before!

What are some instances that collaboration worked for you? What’s your success story with cross promoting? Let us know in the comments below!

Photo: Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

20 thoughts on “The Power of Collaboration: Don’t Underestimate It!

    • Yeah! Funny you said that! Me, a home stager, mosquito control company, and mortgage lender will be having a mini real estate expo/open house next week. Should be interesting. Thanks for stopping by!

  1. I love the idea of collaboration and that’s what I find when I join the different blogging communities. I have found there is so much power as a team and I have seen the amazing results the groups have helped me achieve in less than a month of blogging. I can already see some potential JVs and I wouldn’t be surprised if something happens sooner than later.

  2. Wonderful story, Kristen — love it! (Of course, I love any story with a happy ending) 🙂

    I’m a gargantuan advocate of collaboration and that’s why I’m also an advocate of masterminding. Let’s face it — It’s NO fun to do build a business alone. Any time you get two or more people together with everyone’s creative thinking caps on, ideas are going to swirl. And once you get those ideas percolating, look out! Anything is possible.

    Kudos to you for collaborating with two fabulous business owners who have a vested interest in your success!

    • Thanks Melanie! The key is also to find the right joint venture partners. Made a mistake on this last year and learned a lot! And yes, it is no fun doing business alone and I love having a group I can turn to mastermind and brainstorm with. For me, that’s where the best ideas are born!

  3. Kristen,

    Another wonderful post! You are so right how no matter what kind of business you are in there are ways to help one another.

    I LOVE networking! I’m so excited because this week I will be attending a Social Media event on Tumblr (there is an office in Richmond) and then another one that is a mix mash of businesses.

    • Lucky you! I try to network as often as possible, it’s been very good to my business. You never know who you’ll meet at these events!

  4. Loved this article….collaboration worked like a charm in school and college…we were assigned individual projects but always ended up doing them as a team and it worked really well!

    Looking forward to checking more of your posts!

    • Thanks for stopping by and I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Being an athlete in college, I love team environments!

  5. Wonderful example of how collaboration should work. When I first started coaching I was blessed to have number of classmates who were of the team mindset rather than a me first. I learned a lot there including how much FUN networking could be if you went with the right attitude.
    Great post!

    Keep well,
    Bonnie

  6. You are talking about so many aspects of business in this post. Networking, partnering, masterminding, etc. There is nothing better than getting together with other small biz owners. The creativity of entrepreneurs is limitless!

    • It is! I just happened to be just hanging out with some of my fellow solopreneurs and great ideas just came. I guess you have to be ready for great ideas at any time!

  7. Networking and collaborating is what keeps my business going and growing! Appreciate your insight on this Kristin. It is exciting when you can get others together, even if it is only one brain, two are better than one, right?!

    • Of course and three is better than two! 🙂 For some reason by best ideas come from being on the beach or being in a group. In April, we’re having a “Work on the Beach” Day. Maybe I’ll see what happens when I combine them both!

  8. The power of collaboration is enormous and being able to identify who you can partner with is wonderful. I’m glad it worked out for you and your friends.

    It’s also something that be very effective in our online business. For example I’m working with local small businesses and there may be something I’m good at but not great at. Knowing who I can contact to get that done efficiently is wonderful and a blessing because we all benefit. Really enjoyed your post.

    • Great point Yvonne! True, with collaboration everyone has something to offer that the other might not specialize in. Thanks for stopping by!

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