The Art of Collaboration and Business Building

I adore my wonderful Young Living team and my bestie the other Christina, I am lucky to have people in this business to collaborate with.  I owned my own business for 8 years and loved the ability to be my own boss, but one downside was not having anyone to pow-wow with.  When starting my Young Living business I was lucky enough to be a part of a supportive team and have my close friend in the business as well. I will outline for you some great tips I have picked up along the way to help you maximize collaboration and grow your young Living business.

Before I outline some successes and tips on collaboration in your business I would like to offer some encouragement.

1. You do not need someone else to be successful, and often times we will rely on another person for our successes instead of being accountable for our "needs improvement" areas.
2. You have a "Why" and it should not change regardless of who you collaborate with. 
3. Everyone progresses at their own pace. This is not a race, its a journey and know that you may not get to the destination as quickly, but you will get there if you don't give up!
4. Do not get caught up in the "I need support for success" mentality. In this business we all have leadership and it may take going a up few levels (or across) to find the support you desire. Keep in mind that you have everything you need...Young Living provides the absolute best for sharing, learning, and growing in this business; if you have nothing else you have your Virtual Office packed full of these resources!

Ok now on to how and why collaboration in this business model can really help you grow! 

Finding Your Ying: 

It can be hard to find the ying to your yang, but not impossible! Finding another person to collaborate with (even if it is only on one project) can be difficult if you don't already have someone in mind.  Here are my tips for finding that someone:

• Ask someone in your downline if that would like to work on a class/event/blog together. You may be surprised to find out that someone in your downline is interested in working this business also.   
• Ask someone not yet in the business.  Sometimes the best way to encourage involvement is through collaboration.  You can ask a family member or friend to help you come up with some make and take ideas or to help you with an event. Most people are willing to help and you may even find your next business builder.
• Find a local Young Living distributor who might also be interested in collaborating. It is always nice to talk shop with another Young Living member!

Accountability:

Personal accountability is absolutely necessary for success. We must stay honest with ourselves and have good habits set in place.  Personal accountability can be difficult, but accountability to someone else is a much bigger responsibility.  If you are like me that last thing you want to do is let some one down.  When you don't follow through on a personal goal you are only letting yourself down, but when working with your partner you really have to come through on your promises.  Your partner in collaboration will also hold you accountable to your own personal business goals.  Christina is the best at encouraging me past my Eeyore moments, and keeping me focused on my bigger goals.  I let her know what my goals are and also what my steps are to get there, and believe me she will ask me how I am doing!

Bigger Outcomes:

If you are like me and probably a lot of us in this business we have had one or more classes where no one came.  It can be such a let down and can often prevent people from perusing classes in the future.  I have scheduled about 50% more classes with collaborating then on my own.  Christina and I host online, make and takes, and intro classes together.  This has made it possible for us to bring more people together and have less classes with people not showing up.  It is a fun and rewarding experience as we both instruct and share differently in these classes.  If you decided to team up with another member remember you are now able to offer two perspectives on products, have a larger gathering, and get creative with classes. 

Inspiration:

I am inspired by many people in the essential oil community, and truly love hearing others success stories, but it is different when it's your friend.  Building your business with your partner makes for a rewarding experience as you get to share in their success.  This is one area that you will need to check your ego and jealousy at the door. I have been able to watch Christina through struggles and success grow in her Young Living business and it is incredibly inspiring.  

Collaboration can also bring about new ideas and ways of sharing.  Christina and I hosted our first vendor event this year and it was an great success. You do not have to be in the same city to collaborate and find inspiration, I am part of many Facebook groups that share tips and ideas. You can also ask your team what they would like to see as far as class topics or ask another business builder what they are finding successful.  

Tips: 

Here are a few tips to collaborate successfully:

1. Keep money out of it.  Money can complicate things so either split everything up front or don't work together if money needs to be a part of it.
2. Check yourself.  If you can't be real with your strengths and weaknesses then you won't be of any benefit to your partner. Know what you bring to the table and learn how to compliment those around you.
3. Don't over commit and under deliver.  When working with someone else you need to come through on your commitments, we are all busy (no matter what that looks like) and that can not be an excuse.