Are Other Freelancers Your Competitors Or Potential Collaborations?

Each time you log on to a social network, you might come across recommendations for other people and freelancers working in the same field as you. The first question that pops up in your mind is whether you should consider them a friend or a foe. This, in turn, then leads you to think about the pros and cons of their existence and whether they hurt your profits or not. To answer all these questions, experts have come up with a simple answer. You should consider them to be potential partners instead of thinking of them as your enemies. This would not only give you a fresh perspective on your business but also help build relationships for future referrals.

Thinking of the other freelancers as your enemy or competition would serve no positive purpose but only have a negative impact on your mental health. You will stress about losing business to them rather than gain an opportunity to work with the people in your field. Take a common example of an electrician. There are probably scores of them in your city and more often than not, you will find that they all belong to the same union or trade organization and view each other as a part of the same community rather than competition for each other. They will work together and keep the customer happy and even refer each other when they are busy.

You should focus more on the other part which could be hurting your business. There are a number of things, which include, a poor website design, poor pricing strategies, poor management of time spending, poor marketing strategies, and outdated skills, to name a few. If your business is struggling, look at what you can improve rather than blame the market for a healthy competition. You will also reap more benefits when each member of the community is working together rather than against each other. After all, there is strength in unity.

Connect with the other freelancers and share their posts or comment on them. In this way, you will ensure quality content for your followers regardless of the source of the information. Soon, a mutual relationship will be built between you and the other party, and the consequence of that would be a greater reach since your audience will become their audience and vice-versa. Participate in the discussion forums of your field and connect with the other members of your community. You will find that these freelancers are a great source of knowledge and might help you reach conclusions that you otherwise would have missed.

Sometimes, you can come across a project which might be too much for you to handle alone. Turning it down might lead to your client taking his business elsewhere. Instead, you can connect with these freelancers and collaborate on that project. The work progress would be faster and you will have secured the client for future as well. The only real competition for you in the business world is yourself. Stand out from the crowd. Offer something that makes you look different from all the others. Develop new skills. Grow. Be better than you were yesterday. As is said, if you are looking for someone to compete with and be better than, you need to only look into a mirror.