I remember years ago that if someone set up a business doing the same type of service/product that you were doing they would be fierce competition. Your knowledge would be a closely guarded secret… the idea of sharing what you knew on a blog was ridiculous… and the thought of adding your pricing to your website was absurd! Well, you didn’t want to let your competitors know how much you charge now!

Thankfully, nowadays business is a lot more transparent… it has to be! And instead of fearing the competition and keeping everything a secret, we are now embracing collaboration. We’re working with those who offer something that we don’t… in order to help our clients’ experience be a happy one.

If you still a need bit of persuading that collaboration really is worth the time and effort, below are 3 reasons why I think it’s vital for your coaching business.

 

1. Adds value to clients

My other half also runs his own business (2 self-employed people in the same house? We must be mad!). He provides exterior cleaning to properties i.e. render, roof, driveway.  In order to add value to his customers he will often collaborate with other trades – for example window cleaners, gardeners etc – and provide an all-in-one package.  It’s a win-win situation, not only does his customer receive the best value, but all the trades get work out of it, maybe even repeat work with that customer.

Think about your own coaching business – whoever it is you provide coaching for, think about what else you could offer to complement it. So for example, if you’re a health/nutrition coach maybe you could collaborate with a fitness coach, or a mindfulness/wellbeing coach. If you’re a public speaking coach, you could collaborate with a leadership coach. It’s all about adding value to your clients.

 

2. Expands your network

Think about your networking group or your social media followers. Imagine how your circle would expand if you collaborated with another coach… you are growing your network. Working with another coach who has a different circle of contacts or audience to you gives you access to people you may have otherwise never met.

Think of what that could do to your social media following, or your subscriber list…

Networking meme

 

3. Support from like-minded people

No matter what kind of coach you are, you all have one thing in common… you are all business owners. Whether you run your business alone, or you have a team working with you, you are still responsible for your business.  It can be quite daunting – there will be days when you wonder if it’s all worth it, and then there are days when you wouldn’t dream of doing anything else (hopefully more of the latter!)

By collaborating with other coaches, you are working with people who are in the same situation as you… they get it! You can provide support to each other when needed – use each other as a sounding board and bounce ideas off each other.

I think collaboration is good in any business no matter what industry it is. By keeping an open mind and thinking a little “outside the box”, your coaching business has the potential to reach more clients and offer something others haven’t thought of yet…