Why Collaboration Makes Sense for Businesses

There’s an old adage that says: two heads are better than one, and this couldn’t be more true when we talk about collaboration. By collaboration, I mean the opportunity to provide innovative solutions to problems or creating new services by working together with other people. Small businesses can benefit immensely from collaborations. Take for instance, the online food delivery service “Hellofood.com”, partners with tens of restaurants in Lagos and solves a problem for both the customer, and the business.

With the advent of technology, target customers needs are growing and changing so frequently. If a business idea was original at the time that it was founded, and still existing after five years, there is a high probability that a form of inertia has settled in the organisation, and there hasn’t been an innovative product or initiative since it was founded – sort of a “don’t fix it if its not broken situation”. But it’s okay not to tamper with what works already, especially if its generating revenue, if things never change, and we remain in one era. Unfortunately, there is always going to be the case where people do things faster and better. Also, there is always going to be the case where target markets move up in demographic brackets, which may affect their preferences and tastes as a result of getting older.

In Jack Welsh’s, New York Times Bestselling memoir/management book, Straight From The Gut, he talked about how at the height of the Internet boom, more fortune 500 companies were creating an online presence and sales channels to increase their revenue. Jack Welsh, then chairman of General Electric, admitted how he had no idea how the Internet worked, or how to align it with General Electric’s sales strategy. He further mentioned how they invited a young man who was an Internet expert to educate him, and the management. In summary, owing to this intervention, GE created a great online sales channel, which today is fundamental to contributing millions of dollars in revenue to the organisation.

Here are other reasons to consider when thinking about collaborating:

Cultivate original ideas:  Although there is nothing new under the sun, we are still limited by how much we know. However, when a business collaborates, it can gain access to limitless knowledge and whip up original perspectives or ideas to provide solutions, or discover new opportunities. With collaboration, it reduces the pressure of “becoming an expert to execute an idea”. If an organisation wishes to explore a new opportunity that will require external elements that they have no experience in, getting together with the "experts" in that area can help. For example, your business decides to improve its online presence on social media, but needs the right message to get through the noise. There are many businesses run by young entrepreneurs who are experts in content marketing and social media strategy.

If a business is keen on getting it right, it can collaborate to identify the right message, the right graphics or media i.e. photos, videos, animation, illustrations to use, or how to make the business’ marketing messages go viral. These young entrepreneurs can teach you the science of using these tools, open access to a new market, and help you get the best results to improve your sales. 

Cultivating Knowledge: by collaborating, you may have done an assessment of your competences, and recognised the deficits you have in terms of resources, talents and experiences. Collaboration entails a bit of experimenting, testing what works and what doesn’t – a necessary rites of passage. And by going down that route with people or organisations, there is the opportunity for knowledge sharing (information, skills, expertise, talent), which is an invaluable asset for maintaining competitive advantage and relevance in the business space. This way, a business owner transforms his or her business into a learning organisation by deliberately acquiring knowledge in order to facilitate growth.

Collaboration can help small businesses reach their goals. It handles the shortfall of talent and resources that small business owners’ experience, but most importantly, it provides the opportunity to innovate and re-invigorate businesses.

In what ways are you collaborating?