Three reasons why collaboration is the new competition
‘Alright stop, collaborate and listen’
They’re the words that launched an ‘80s career that went on the paint the world with peroxide and pierced ears. But decades later, and with us all thankfully leaving the trends back in the day where they belong, we can’t help but think that Vanilla Ice was onto something. See, when you work like we do here at Helm, business is all about collaboration.
Once upon a time, being the best in business was all about beating the competition. It was about doing things first and doing them better. But times have changed and the start-up generation has come to be known for pooling resources for the greater good. At HELM, we’re all about coming together to create a collaborative and innovative environment in which we can all do our best work.
Here’s why we’re big on collaboration not competition, because the real magic happens when you work together.
SHARING IS CARING WHEN IT COMES TO CLIENTS
It might sound a little odd, but there’s a certain ‘cross-contamination’ on the client front that comes with working collaboratively, as opposed to in competition. Take some of the talents in our Doncaster co-working space, for example. That logo one of us is creating will need a website to go on, and the website will need words to fill it and a social media manager to put it in front of the people who need to see it to get the sales coming in. Before you know it, a small logo design job has become a full-scale project for a graphic designer, website designer, copywriter and social media manager. What’s that, you’d like the logo printing on staff uniforms? We’ve got just the man for that too.
It’s a halo effect that sees clients benefit from an agency model and freelancers enjoy the creative freedom that comes with collaborating alongside people they work well with.
TOGETHER WE’RE STRONGER
We’ve been pretty open about the fact that it ain’t easy going it alone. Ask any start-up entrepreneur or freelancer and they’ll tell you the same thing; business is tough. With that in mind, why would you turn away advice from someone who has been there, done that and bought the T-shirt when it comes to starting out?
Mentoring is one of our favourite ways to collaborate, bringing together fledgling businesses with entrepreneurs who are a little further down the line. If you’re reluctant to accept help from someone more experienced in business than you because you count them as competition, you might just be shooting yourself in the foot.
A PROBLEM SHARED IS A PROBLEM HALVED
It’s the age-old saying but we’re not talking about venting your private issues here. We’re talking about the way collaboration can help when your workload has snowballed and you really don’t want to turn that client away or – worse still – miss a deadline. Nobody likes giving work away but collaborating with another freelancer who gets the client’s brand and who you know will do the job justice is good business sense when the chips are down and you’re staring burnout in the face.
Keen to collaborate? Join us here at HELM. We’re like family, us lot.
