Collaboration on the Agenda…
As well as working with each individual client and helping them on their growth pathway, one of the things we love here at Agenda is making connections between clients, contacts and the other fab people we know, hopefully to the benefit of everyone involved.
A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of seeing the results of a collaboration between two of my clients – The Frostery and Aspire Photography Training. Master cake-maker Suzanne at the Frostery needed some new photography and I was able to put them in touch with Aspire. The results of the photo shoot are amazing – above is just one of the shots from the day.
This got us thinking generally about the ways, means and outcomes of collaborating…
A bit of old fashioned bartering
Entrepreneurs and business owners all have a little bit of Dell Boy in them and striking a deal that doesn’t involve the exchange of cold hard cash can be to everyone’s benefit. After all, go back a few hundred years and bartering was commonplace! There’s no issue with taking a step back in time once in a while so long as all parties involved stand to benefit.
Twice the audience
One of the largest benefits of collaborating is the extended audience you can all of a sudden find yourself in front of. Not only are you given the opportunity to speak directly to a brand new potential bunch of customers, you are also (by association with the other party) effectively being endorsed.
A word of warning – don’t go into a collaboration solely for the purpose of reaching someone else’s audience. One of the main reasons collaborations fail is if one party feels that they have put in all the legwork whilst the other has simply sat back and reaped the rewards.
Every day is a school day
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘two heads are better than one’. This definitely applies when collaborating on a business project. It’s human nature that we all get stuck in our own way of doing things – even if it’s not necessarily the best or most efficient methodology. Working with other people on projects opens your eyes to new ideas and ways of thinking, some of which you may well want to pick up and take forward.
We love a good collaboration here at Agenda. Whilst we’re all hard at work selling our wares and buying the services of others, don’t forget to look beyond and think how you can help your customers/suppliers/partners in other, more collaborative, ways.
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