If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years freelancing and in the startup world, there is absolutely no reason to shun, envy or hide from your competition. In fact, I now do what I can to embrace who I think are my competitors!
There’s likely a good chance that others who provide similar services to you or seem to share similar ideas are likely to be your “type” of person who speaks your language. It’s a much more fulfilling conversation when the person on the other end shares your ideas and can respond logically.
Most importantly, connecting with competitors – especially more established ones – opens the door for possible collaboration opportunities, cross-promotion and free expert advice.
A lot of the time, your competition is not even really your competition. They likely have a completely different strategic end game and what you can do is learn and be inspired by their work.
For a long time, I wouldn’t dare open a blog post, ebook or website of someone who I perceived was a “competitor”. When I stopped this, I realized that I’m only hurting myself by not participating in the digital mind share. One person’s post is another’s idea!
