A large majority of networking groups have a rule about only having one person per industry. However, most of them are pretty specific about what constitutes an industry.
For example, you may be a photographer, but there will be spots for different kinds of photographers. For example, there might be wedding photography, commercial photography, event photography, portrait photography, and product photography.
It’s easy to think that every business offering something similar is someone you need to beat. More customers for them must mean fewer customers for you… right? Not necessarily. Business isn’t usually that black and white.
One of the biggest mindset shifts that successful networkers, and successful business owners in general, make is moving from the fear of competition to the inclusivity of collaboration.
Because networking isn’t about keeping opportunities to yourself, it’s about creating them.
Collaborating can be better for your business
Collaborating with people in the same industry as you might seem counterintuitive. They’re supposed to be your competitors. However, there are several ways that collaboration can improve your business.
You get to keep doing what you’re good at. It’s important to stay true to the parts of your business that you love and are really good at. If a client comes to you needing something specialised that you’re not great at, it might be better to refer that part of the project to someone else. For example, you can have two bookkeepers who work together, with one specialising in payroll and the other in day-to-day bookkeeping. Instead of all competing for the same client, they work together on different aspects.
You get to work with the people you love. Sometimes, after meeting a new client, you know that they won’t be the right fit. Maybe it’s a personality thing, maybe it’s the project, maybe it’s the industry they’re in. Whatever the reason, referring them to another business is better than working with someone you’d rather not. An example is two marketing agencies with entirely different approaches. Perhaps one is more strategy-first, and the other is more social-first. If a client comes to the strategy-first agency and just wants them to do social media, it might be better for that agency to refer the client on.
You’re in charge of your time and energy. If you try to be the right fit for everyone, you’re paving the road to burnout. Being able to refer business to trusted businesses that work alongside you means that when you don’t have the time or energy for a new client or project, you can refer the client to someone you know will take care of them, and you can focus on your current workload.
Collaborating with similar businesses can build enormous trust. Both between you and the client, the client and the referred business, and you and the referred business. The key is to take the time to fully understand what your clients need and what your ‘competition’ does well. That way you can pair up the right clients with the right businesses. Clients remember when you put their needs above making a sale, and other businesses remember that kind of generosity too. And both will likely work with you again or refer others to you.
Working together is better for you
Business can be lonely. Collaboration changes that.
Running a business isn’t always smooth sailing. There are great days, there are stressful days, and there are those days where nothing goes to plan.
You don’t have to face those challenges alone when you have a network of other business owners surrounding you.
Now, there are the benefits that come with networking with other business owners from any industry: the community and camaraderie. Knowing that someone else has probably experienced the same thing, or something similar enough to help. The new perspectives, words of encouragement, or suggestions of different ways of doing things. Just knowing that you’re not doing it alone.
Then there’s the kind of support that comes from talking with people who understand the specific challenges of your industry. They know the terminology, the customer expectations, and the marketplace. Those people that you can talk to about whatever industry-specific things are going on who will actually get it. The frustrations of your software not working correctly, like the Xero crashes earlier this year, or the trends that are coming around, like the new TikTok trends, or even something as simple as discussing where to go to upskill.
This is more than just networking. It’s peer support.
Where you can compare notes, share experiences, discuss what’s happening in your industry, and learn from each other’s experiences.
You don’t have to share your secret sauce or hand over your customer list. You can simply have a conversation with someone who gets it. That kind of support has enormous value.
Collaboration can be better for your clients
Sometimes the best thing to do for a client is collaborate with or recommend someone else. If you look at a situation, you might decide that you only want to work on part of it, that it would be better suited to someone else’s expertise, or that you simply don’t want to do it.
All of those are very valid reasons to refer your clients to someone else. And as a result, you don’t have to do the work, and your clients will end up with a better result. And at the end of the day, the client being happy is the main goal.
Say you are a marketer, and you have several strings to your bow. If you need to create content for a client, sure, you can take photos for them, but a photographer might be able to do a better job. A builder can fix many things, but when you’re in the middle of demolishing and renovating a bathroom, a small hole in the wall is probably better referred to a handyman who has the time to do it.
A collaborative and customer-focused mindset creates an environment where everyone is focused on finding the best outcome for the customer, not simply making money.
An important note
To collaborate easily with others, you need a mindset that there is enough business to go around. While we might be a small country, we’re definitely big enough for everyone’s businesses! And no single business can be everything to everyone.
Each business in the community has different strengths, personalities, specialities, ideal customers, or even just a different approach to your work. And customers have different needs, preferences, budgets, locations, and expectations. Sometimes those align, sometimes they don’t. You shouldn’t have to change your business or expect the customer to change what they’re looking for to win the business.
Connecting with other people in the same or similar industries isn’t necessarily a threat. It can be an opportunity.
The real value is knowing who to recommend
Ultimately, good networking isn’t about collecting as many contacts as possible. It’s about knowing people well enough to make meaningful connections.
While you might want to keep every opportunity to yourself, sometimes the best thing in the long run is to say “I’m not the right person for this, but I know someone who is.” Being able to say that demonstrates confidence rather than weakness. Confidence in your business, your abilities, and in your competitors. It shows that you care more about finding the right solution than forcing a sale.
Instead of viewing every business in the industry as a threat, great networkers realise that everyone has their own niche. There is room for everyone at the table.
The goal isn’t to win every customer; it’s to find the right customer for the right business.
People first, competition second
We believe that networking works best when people come before transactions.
It means getting to know people properly, understanding what they do, learning what they’re good at, and understanding who they help. That builds enough trust so you can confidently recommend them when the right opportunity comes along.
There is room for competition in business. But there’s also room for collaboration. And when relationships come first, you might discover that the businesses you once thought were competitors become some of your strongest connections.
