Posted by Molly Nelson - I think it is less the current
economic climate and more the personality of many entrepreneurs to be
collaborative instead of exclusionary. Two articles on this topic
happened to catch my attention recently, one about
a group of entrepreneurs working to bring other small business owners back to New Orleans, and one about
small online software vendors working together and allowing other companies to build off of their tools.
One of the New Orleans business owners said, “I have never been in a
place that is so community-oriented. Competitive gets you nowhere.
It’s about being collaborative. And this city is so like that, from the
people helping each other rebuild their homes to building businesses.”
Cooperation seems to be something a lot of people leave behind in
kindergarten, but for these business owners it has had a positive
impact.
Let us know in the comments if you've experienced
collaboration like this in running your small business and how it has
impacted you and your business!