To Collaborate or Not To Collaborate: There is No Question!

I am a strong introvert and I have to admit that collaboration does not come easily to me. Left to my own devices, I tend to work alone, be very independent and autonomous and to enjoy my alone time. However, when it comes to running a business, I see the value in collaboration.

My own collaborations started with running a workshop with one of my wonderful coach friends, Dorothy. She and I have been "money buddies" for a long time and decided to do a workshop called "Transforming Your Relationship with Money" together. It was a wonderful experience for me. I gained knowledge from her, learned valuable skills in working together and successfully put on my first professional workshop. We also exchanged ads in each other's mailing lists and divided the labor.

Another significant collaboration was with my friend and "art as process" coach, Kay Kemp. She already had a successful coaching business along with her art business. We collaborated by exchanging ads in each other's mailing lists, but she also has served as one of my business "angels" by letting me use her art studio as a place to hold my workshops. It has been very successful and continues to this time. Her business and her website (http://www.wildheartart.com) serve as inspiration and model for me in my own business.

So what is a collaboration, exactly? The dictionary says it means to "cooperate together". I think of a collaboration as one where both or all parties come together with a common need, share solutions and both or all benefit from the experience. Collaborations can be found in many different guises and can be extremely easy to initiate. Here are a few ideas:

• Ask for an interview with an almost famous or famous person in your field
• Exchange web links with another person in your or a related field
• Ask someone to mail an ad of yours to their mailing list in exchange for the same in yours
• Become an affiliate or create an affiliate program for your products
• Ask someone to be a guest columnist in your ezine or news letter
• Be a guest columnist in someone else's ezine
• Join with others in your field and put on an event, a retreat, a workshop
• Join with others in your field or your geographic location or in related fields and put together a public relations blitz, sharing the costs and the exposure.
• Exchange testimonials for products or services
• Invite others to teach a part of your workshop, exchange advertizing and waive workshop fees

So what are the benefits of collaboration for a solo-preneur?

• First, you spend time with other people instead of staying in your home office alone!!
• Business is expanded way beyond what you could do by your self through your own efforts.
• Your mailing or contact list is expanded more quickly.
• You gain contacts through others that provide you with additional business in the future.
• You gain knowledge and skills by exposure to others in your field
• You stay in the loop of what is happening in your field.

And lots more.

So instead of trying to do everything yourself, try collaboration.

I'm attending the Super Conference 2006: The Power Of Collaboration in Building Your Business in New York City in May. This is being presented by the incredible team of Andrea J. Lee, Michael Port and Milana Leshinsky (WOW!). If you're interested in knowing more about it or in registering for the incredible event, go to their Super Conference website.