Community over competition – 4 reasons why you should find your tribe

I love being my own boss and enjoy working by myself. But, I feel that my working life got a whole new quality after I found some colleagues. Even though I meet most of them over Facebook and Skype, it’s nice to have someone to share things with. 

I have gathered some of the reasons why it’s nice to have a community over competition and why you should consider it too:

Personal growth

By getting to know others in similar situations you can learn from each other and inspire each other.

Collaboration

Maybe you find someone who’s specialized in slightly (or completely) different fields and you can collaborate on various projects. Or maybe you can refer assignments to each other when you’re fully booked.

I’ve done styled shoots with other vendors, and I always refer photography requests I can’t take on to other photographers I know. It’s both a nice service to my clients, and it’s nice to help out fellow photographers.

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Support and community

It can be challenging to work alone. Hard questions from clients, technical challenges or simply loneliness. In those instances, it’s nice to have someone who understands. There’s a big difference between being employed and being self-employed so it’s not always possible for everyone else to see the day to day struggles you deal with. 

Accountability

When you have a boss it’s not so easy to escape all the tasks that you’re facing. On the other hand, when you’re your own boss it can be quite simple to lose focus and the sight of what’s important.

I usually give an outline of my goals or focus areas to a friend at the beginning of each week- and vice versa. We follow up with each other during the week, and when the week is over we check in to see what is completed.

Just making a list of all the to-dos makes a huge difference in terms of completion, but having someone who checks in makes it a lot easier to keep my focus. 

| Read also: This is how you set goals that’ll change your life

Where to find likeminded people

• • Search for suitable facebook groups
  • Become a member of a mastermind
  • Take a course or workshop
• • Get a desk in a coworking community
  • Look for local entrepreneur associations

• • Find a mentor or a coach
    

If you have any questions, you can contact me!