5 Ways Collaboration Will Help You Grow Your Small Business

Since the days of Dale Carnegie, the term “mastermind” has been a prevalent term in the business community. However, the value of a hivemind of like-minded individuals, working together to reach a consensus, goes back to before the Arthurian table and Roman times.

As with many things in business, what we do to focus our intentions are not rocket science. They are not anything new. Instead, they are very much the evolution of what many have done before us – but in this era, we have simply added our own iterations and nuances to create the environment we find pleasing.

Whether it is a group of business owners in a certain industry niche or a certain range of financial revenues, there are organizations that put together small group opportunities so that leaders can connect, exchange ideas, and learn possible solutions through story.

While people will often get caught up in the story of someone else’s experience, the value of this group comes in breaking down the lessons that were learned, the signs that may have been present prior to the event, and how things were handled after the unfortunate event occurred.

While a story time may take place on any day of the week, it’s far less often that they take the time to break down those additional elements to create learning lessons from those stories. The value of a hivemind is that it brings those elements to the forefront, allowing the lessons to anchor and help others identify what to do differently in the future, should they find themselves in a similar situation.

The Value of Collaboration

Even though “mastermind” is a term that has been used for decades – it was first popularized by Napoleon Hill in his 1937 book, Think and Grow Rich – the concept still has a lot of value for us today. We’re each on our own journey as business owners, but we’re facing a lot of the same challenges and decisions. By collaborating and sharing our experiences, we can help each other through the ups and downs – and often, I can help you avoid some of the challenges I’ve faced, and vice versa.

Here are some ways I’ve found these groups helpful, even to the point that I run one myself.

• Sharing Collective Wisdom: By developing relationships and talking with people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, it becomes much easier to learn from them and find creative solutions to issues I may be facing. I love being able to broaden my view and learn new ways to approach parts of my business!
• Accountability: Part of the discussion involves setting goals – and by sharing my goals with other business owners, I’m offered a new level of accountability. This becomes very important down the road!
• Brainstorming:When you own a business, it can be challenging to see the solution to your problems. It’s not that you’re not capable of finding those solutions, but that you’re often too close to the situation. Being able to brainstorm with others who may have been in similar situations gives me a chance to step back, gain objectivity, and approach the issue with clarity.
• Networking: This one is pretty self-explanatory! Networking is always a good thing, but it can get pretty awkward when it’s forced. When you’re already gathering with a group of like-minded business owners, collaborations and opportunities tend to naturally arise.
• Mutual Success: Success tends to breed success. When members of your group are successful, it has a way of pushing you to reach your own levels of success – and when you share a win, it tends to push the other members forward as well!

Finding the Right Fit

If you’re looking for a group like this, I encourage you to take your time and find the right fit. Because you’ll be getting into in-depth conversations with the people involved, you’ll want to make sure that the group is full of leaders who can help you solve your problems and reach your goals.

Think about what would be the most valuable to you.

• If you’re in a specialized industry, you may want to meet with other business owners from the same industry so they’ll be able to help you move past common road blocks.
• If you have hit a revenue plateau and want to move past it, you may want to meet with people who have either been through that stage or are there right now so you can win together.
• If you’re more interested in personal grown and leadership development, you’ll want to make sure that others in your group have the same goals – that way, you can push each other toward growth and hold each other accountable.

Take a moment to jot down ways that you would like to grow in the coming year. How could a mastermind help you get there?