So you want to collaborate on a project
So you want to collaborate on a project...
Freelancers often consider collaborating on projects. In a lot of ways, it can make sense to do so because it doubles your audience reach and gives you the ability to strengthen your business offering.
It can be because you share skills that complement each other. An example of this is a web developer and a copywriter, where winning work becomes simpler because you’re better able to service two parts of the project as one job.
Or it could be that you want to share an audience to bring a new side of your existing businesses to light. Such situations might be two copywriters teaming up to teach workshops on SEO and content. Or it could be a case of working together on something like a podcast as a marketing exercise in order to help services you already offer for a stronger position of authority.
And sometimes, it’s a case of two freelancers brainstorming what they see is a hole in the market with a product or service who come together to launch something new. This is fairly common when freelancers reach a certain level of maturity in their business and are looking for less face-to-face client work and are seeking ways to monetise through products and passive education.
Whatever the case, collaboration can be great for your business. It can also be a big sink of wasted time wrapped in a lot of argument. That’s why it’s important not to get caught up in the idea of doing something new without understanding the impact it will have on your freelancing day-to-day.
We’re going to focus on the growing of the business and moving towards a new idea in this lesson. Next lesson, we’ll tackle door number one of pitching together.
When looking to create a new partnership around a new idea or as a marketing campaign, how you engage on your new adventure will greatly influence the outcome. So too will the setup of the relationship and the personality of the people involved.
The red hot tip? Always have a plan!
Remember last lesson when we looked at the pros and cons of a new idea? You should definitely go through that process before you engage in a project with another freelancer.
Whether it’s your idea or not, or whether it’s about making money or making a marketing splash doesn’t matter. You need to vet the opportunity solidly.
Collaboration only works if you:
Have a clear vision for the undertaking. Do you both agree on where you want this to end up? If not, how different is the vision? Partnerships need to have equal understanding and fulfilment of a vision to get through the tough times. So if you don’t have that in the excitement stage, step away from the idea and come back when you do.
Play to strengths. Coming together as parts to create a whole is about increasing your strength. But a common mistake in partnerships is placing one or both parties in territory where those strengths are not made use of. Bigger projects mean increased workload and more things to get done. But you should always play to your strengths.
Develop a structure that allows for equality and/or proper recognition. It can be tempting to play captain because you are used to it. It can be equally tempting to try and have a flat structure where you’re both equals. But the better outcomes are when people can feel free to take ownership of their part of the business. You both need to be in charge of some aspect of the business that the other person isn’t so that decisions can be made without committee compromises diluting the product.
Set goals you agree on. Small and large goals mark a successful project. So be clear about the milestones you want to reach in 3, 6 and 12 months time.
Define success carefully. Be clear about how many social media followers you may want to have or what strategic partnerships and media opportunities you think suit the product. If one of you wants to have a feature in Peppermint Magazine and the other wants to make the cover of a major startup publication, there will be trouble in paradise.
Make it your business to have a strong focus on pricing and revenue. Money is the worst argument a partnership can have. And it can ruin a good partnership and take the friendship with it. We all want to make money out of our projects, but some will want to establish a product and test the market. Others will want the project to price to pay for itself straight off the bat. Pricing should be based on research, not guesswork. And it should be a reflection of the market, not your egos.
Invent a methodology that supports both your aims. If you want to fly around the country to teach to 10 people at a high price but your partner wants to launch a lower cost product online from their office, you’ll have a very hard time each time you work to define and develop your idea. If you think it’s better to cold call 100 people for marketing and they would prefer to run an event that gets 50 leads in a room to view the product, you’ll face issues when it comes to customer acquisition. How you’re going to work together matters as it forms the core focus of your products. You can divvy up the labour and try both, but what happens if one idea works far better than the other?
No love and passion fluff. While you establish a new partnership or product, it will take you away from your core business. This has a time and financial cost associated with it. That’s why a passion for an aspect of the work involved, the admiration you feel for a fellow freelancer, the love of generating ideas and the wonderful freedom obtained from moving away from client service towards a new challenge should not be your guide. You must have a plan. Love, passion and fluff are fleeting.
Personality helps, too. Many of us who cut our teeth on business in the 90’s and noughties are well versed with things like Myers-Briggs and other personality tests. While there are significant reasons not to put complete faith in these measurements, there are also compelling reasons to consider them, too. We work differently. Complementary styles work. Complete differences in approach however do not. Tread wisely.
Setting up the process properly
There are a couple of collaborative processes you need to have agreed and in writing before going forward:
Profit share- how is the money divided and paid
Setup costs- for example- websites, hosting, business registration, social media scheduling tools etc all cost money. If someone foots the bill and you dissolve the partnership later, you may have a lot less claim on the work than you think
Intellectual property- you need to register trademarks and associated IP
Division of labour- many a well intended partnership has come unstuck with one or more parties doing the majority of the work. This is why having defined roles is clear
Non-compete clauses- if the partnership dissolves, can you legally work in that space again
A basic marketing plan- this, together with your strategy plans should form the basis of the engagement
Success measurements- have in writing the goals you want to kick. Whether that’s how many people to get to a workshop to deem it worthy or how many new followers on Twitter doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you know when things are and aren’t going to plan
Project timelines- stage the work and stick to it. There’s no easier way to lose faith in a partner than the whoosh of deadlines or the situations where one person is ready to launch and the other person is still editing the business documentation
Contracts are a great idea as it gives you both structure and comfort. I would strongly advise against entering any kind of partnership without understanding what the roles and responsibilities or goals and revenue generation model are.
Yes, it sounds like I am sucking the fun out of collaboration.
But the smarter way to think of it is starting it on the right foundation so you can get to the fun stuff without worries later.
Honestly, be very wary of anyone who uses phrases like:
“We can work that out laterâ€
“Planning makes me cross-eyedâ€
“Can’t this just be fun?â€
“Let’s just see what happensâ€
These are the chosen phrases of someone who hasn’t thought it through properly. And they will turn into a nightmare; a rather expensive, stressful and unproductive nightmare.
Always check with your chosen partner before you start by asking this simple question:
What do you want to get out of this project?
If they can’t answer you or the answers don’t match what you want, don’t do it.
Knowing how you work is the key to success
This is your exercise, and it will continue to be one every time you work with someone else.
Write down the elements of your work you enjoy the most
Write down what generates the best revenue
Write down the opportunities you have available
Run them through the pros and cons in the previous lesson
Ask the questions you need to ascertain if you are on the same page with the 9 points above
Ask yourself if what you like to do, what makes you money and what you hope to do in the future can be done with this person
Next lesson, we’ll look at the more common collaboration of drawing on other freelance talent to win, secure and undertake work. And what you need to do in order to find the right partnership and the models available to make it work.