Collaboration is a Win-Win
What if you could venture into a business-changing opportunity? Through Rising Tide, you can meet other business owners, make life-long connections and be a part of innovative and exciting collaborations. Another upside of working with individuals who are interested in growing and pushing themselves creatively is that you can expand your business and gain more expert insight. It’s a win-win!
Working Together Means Learning Together
One of the biggest challenges for me when I started taking on more collaborative projects was finding my place in the group dynamic and setting realistic expectations for workflow and project management. I’ve become so accustomed to working alone and handling each project in its entirety that I had to learn when to let others take the lead and go with the flow. The beauty of working with other creators is that we each bring something unique to the table.
Here are a few things I learned through working with other artists:
- How to organize your workflow (HoneyBook is a helpful tool)
- What to do when you are feeling stuck
- How to interact with clients
- How to go with the flow
Collaborating with other business owners who have a different specialty than mine has given me the opportunity to practice my pitch and explain my process in the same way that I would for a client but without the pressure of hoping to get hired. Knowing how to explain what you do and how you do it is essential to landing new clients.. Being able to work on my pitch has been tremendously valuable to me and my business.
Find Your Place to Shine
The beauty of any collaboration is seeing the way that you can mesh styles with your partner to create something new. But along with that comes the possibility of losing your creative point of view. At the beginning of any collaborative project, it’s important to establish roles, responsibilities and what each contributor hopes to gain from the outcome.
Find out where your work can shine and then focus your energy there. Think about what makes your work stand out and why people may want to collaborate with you. Here are a few ways to set up a successful collaboration from the start:
- Know your strengths and be upfront about them
- Offer contributions that you feel confident about
- Meet with your collaborative partner to outline expectations
Pro Tip: Working through challenges with open communication not only feels great, it establishes connections that can turn into future projects, friendships and potential client referrals.
Taking on collaborations is a great way to push yourself to learn new things in your industry. It worked for me and I’m sure it will work for you.
For myself as an artist, I discovered that by allowing more experienced muralists to take the lead, I was able to watch the process from an outside perspective and learn new tips and tricks to improve my workflow. Seeing all of our work together, in one piece of art, is a great reminder that even though we each have a unique point of view and style, we can blend them together to make something beautiful.
