Christie SchultzCareer Expert

Christie Schultz

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Collaboration 101 for Entrepreneurial Moms: Part 1

If you’re an Entrepreneurial Mom, collaboration is as essential to the growth and success of your business as is having a website. Here in Part 1 of Collaboration 101 for Entrepreneurial Moms, we’ll introduce a few things to keep in mind when considering collaboration with other Entrepreneurial Mom-run businesses.

Why collaborate?

  • You can’t do it alone! No Entrepreneurial Mom can be all things to their business. If you’re the brains behind the marketing strategy that your marketing company provides clients, stick with marketing! Don’t try to also be the technical wizard behind your website, for instance. Using the website example, if hiring someone outright isn’t an option for developing your website, consider collaborating with a fellow mom in the web design business who might be interested in doing web work for you in exchange for your marketing strategy for her business.

  • Each partner’s network increases your reach exponentially. The more times your company name and URL are shared with your target market, of course you statistically increase your visibility and thus possibility to convert eyeballs into leads, and leads into paying clients. Even if you have well-established collaborations and a robust database, it is said that the best thing to happen to your business will arise from your next connection- the NEXT person you are to meet.

  • Repetition and credibility yields clients. If I hear about company ABC from an ‘acquaintance’ business’s (‘acquaintance’ business= business in whom trust is neutral- you are open to their recommended links but don’t have a close relationship with that business to trust their recommendations wholeheartedly) newsletter once in a while, you might never click on that link even after seeing the mention a handful of times. If you see ABC mentioned in ‘acquaintance’ business’s newsletter, and then again in the newsletter of a very trusted business, you are far more likely to click the first time to find out about ABC and why the business that you trust is collaborating or endorsing them. With repetition either from trusted or acquaintance businesses, the likelihood that you’ll eventually click to find out about ABC increases. It is well-known but deserves repeating that it requires approximately 3 iterations of an idea/ name to generate interest at all, and then another 4 iterations to create a memory of that idea/ name.

  • We are hard-wired for collaboration. From an evolutionary perspective moms especially are hard-wired to work with other moms to achieve goals, dating back in human history when women cared for children in a collaborative way (“It takes a village to raise a child”). Clearly women and societies have progressed but our fundamental propensity to seek out other women for a greater good still thrives within us. In the creation of our modern-day collaborative “tribe” we can lean on one another for skills that we do not ourselves possess, or tasks that don’t make financial sense for us to execute give the opportunity cost for our time.


    • Qualities to possess and seek in collaborations

  • Know your end goal to visualize the puzzle piece(s) that you need. Even in a world of boundless options, our best fit is not always readily available and is not always known to us within our existing network. If our best fit for jeans is not always easy to find, surely our best collaboration matches are not either. But when we start to formulate in our mind’s eye the qualities that we need in our best fit, we now can train our awareness to zero in on that fit when the Universe presents it. Step one will always be to determine who you are as a business identity, as a person, and where those two entities want to each go. Visualize your personal and business lives in five years, and the missing pieces will likely become evident when you compare the end goals with today’s realities. Step two is then to put your collaboration lenses on, and actively seek what you need via every connection. Women are highly capable of selective awareness; if you know a woman who has been trying to start a family they could tell you that it seems that everyone around them is pregnant. Or if we are climbing up a corporate or social ladder we seem to see only those around us who are successfully climbing. This is our intention guiding our path. Put on your synergy-seeking lenses and the opportunities will start to present themselves more clearly, as they’re all around you. Once you have options you can then sort through them to determine the best fit(s) for your various goals. Sometimes the right one with smack you in the face when you see it, as you’ve been ‘eyeing’ it for so long in your mind’s eye. Those are great ones to act upon with swift confidence.

  • Seek a collaborator with a similar vision, but complimentary styles in execution and skills. Paramount in putting a shape to that “puzzle piece” in your mind’s eye is finding a partner shares your vision. What does the big picture look like? What are we creating? What’s the end game? Why are we in it? These must be aligned for large-scale collaborations. However key and valuable variances between collaborators could include execution styles, and should include professional and personal skills in order to complete the puzzle. Do you work best under pressure? If you don’t perhaps your partner should, as deadlines are likely a part of your gig. Do you have an outreaching, comfortably public, networking persona? If you don’t, and your business depends on this, perhaps your collaborative partner should be able to perform those duties.

  • Be generous and receive gracefully. For some women, despite years of unlearning martyr behavior patterns, often we tend to subconsciously resist the collaborative gestures of our partners. Fantastic collaborators recognize where they don’t belong in the puzzle, and where they do. Even apart from contractual arrangements, be mindful enough to graciously accept contributions, and generously give back. Bring a handful of your collaborator’s business cards to a function and distribute them, just because. A great collaborator will return those gestures in their areas of strength, i.e. meeting a last-minute publicity deadline while you’re away.

  • Be open and flexible. You sought a collaborator for a reason; remember to honor the spirit of the collaboration, listen to their ideas, and be willing to change course as circumstances and opportunities may change along the way.

  • Be dependable and compassionate. Be conscientious in your commitments, but tap into your humanity and compassion with fellow moms along your journey with your collaborator. Invariably kids, family, and personal struggles will interfere with normal operations of business. With innovation and compassion, and in reliance upon your diversified strengths, crises can be managed without damaging the professional and personal relationship with your partner. If you offer a balance of understanding and expectation, likely you will be met with the same balance.

  • Fall back on professionalism, even if you’re hurt. Get through uncomfortable or hurtful situations by always falling back on your professional outlook, even if the relationship has grown into friendship. Chances are that the current challenges will subside and friendships can be repaired if cooler heads can prevail and can help you resist the urge to react emotionally.

  • Be assertive in your beliefs, confident in your abilities, and innovative in your approach. Amazing teams are amazing because they think outside the proverbial box, keep adapting, stay ahead of the curve, and aren’t afraid to be wrong in the exploration of a great idea. Contribute enthusiastically and share your gifts- after all, this is why your collaborator chose to work with you after all. “Your playing small does not serve the world,” as the wise Marianne Williamson wrote.


    • Collaboration with the right partners can truly propel your business and get you closer to your goals more quickly and efficiently than many other initiatives. It is my firm belief and the founding principal of Entrepreneurial Moms International that together, we are greater than the sum of our parts. In our next blogs we’ll explore how to find that great sweet spot with collaborations. We'll discuss how to pitch a collaborative idea to a colleague, types of collaborations, pro’s and con’s of collaboration, and stellar examples of successful collaborations in the Entrepreneurial Mom niche.

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