← The Goal Digger Podcast | Top Business and Marketing Podcast for Creatives, Entrepreneurs, and Women in Business
The Goal Digger Podcast | Top Business and Marketing Podcast for Creatives, Entrepreneurs, and Women in Business
880: Survive and Thrive: Why Collaboration Is the New Secret Weapon for Small Business Owners
00:41:52
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- [00:02]
Jenna Kutcher
Thank you to Cozy for sponsoring the Gold Digger Podcast. Transform your living space today with cozy. Visit cozy.com spelled C-O-Z-E-Y.com the home of Possibilities Made Easy. I am genuinely excited to share that this episode is sponsored by the Real Real. Now you can get 25 off your first purchase when you go to therealreal.com golddigger therealreal.com golddigGER it is so easy to talk about the things you love and it's awesome when you can see like oh my gosh, my audience would absolutely love this person too. Again, it expands from this idea of like small business owners are all competing against each other. There's not enough to go around and it builds up more community. I'm Jenna Kutcher, your host of the Gold Digger Podcast. I escaped the corporate world at the age of 23 with nothing more than a 300 camera from Craigslist and a dream. Now I'm running a seven figure online business that feels even better than it looks. All from my house in small town Minnesota with my family here, we value time as our currency. We mix the woo and the work and we are in the pursuit of building businesses that give us the freedom to live lives that we love. I've always loved turning big goals into reality and I'm here to help you do the same. This isn't just a peek behind the curtain. Come along with me and my guests as we tear the whole curtain down. Every week we tackle practice practical no fluff marketing strategies and host honest discussions on what works and what doesn't. Join me and my expert guests for actionable insights to help you grow your dream business with confidence. Pull up a seat and get ready to be challenged, inspired and empowered. This is the Gold Digger Podcast. It's Small Business Month and we are raising a toast to the real MVPs of the economy. You sure? It might feel like you're doing it all, juggling the roles, stretching every dollar and building a dream with limited time and resources. But here's the truth. What small businesses lack in budget, we make up for in community. And this isn't just a feel good moment. It's a smart strategy. Collaboration is how we not only survive, but thrive. In this episode, I am sharing 10 real, doable and powerful ways to collaborate, cross promote and build something bigger together. If you're craving momentum, sustainability, community and growth that actually feels good, well, this one's for you. And really quick. Before we dive in, I just want to say every time I hear your stories, I Am reminded why I started this very podcast in the first place. It is not just about business. It's about impact growth and you showing up for your dreams. So I am sharing one listener voice each week in our small business Spotlight. Let's hear today's feature.
- [02:57]
Melissa Wilkinson
Hey, Jenna. My name is Melissa Wilkinson, and my company is anchored with purpose. I help women live with purpose and intention by helping them reconnect with their faith, family, and biggest dreams. I have learned so much from you over the years, but my favorite teaching has been about podcasting. I took the podcast Lab back in 2023 and launched my podcast in 2024. It has been a game changer for me. It's getting me a seat at the table, helping me book speaking engagements, and it's opening doors and conversations with so many leaders I never would have been able to connect with before. I am so grateful to you and everything that you share with us.
- [03:43]
Jenna Kutcher
Thanks, Melissa. And if you're interested in learning about podcasting like Melissa did, head to free podcastclass.com to save your seat for my free podcasting class. That's a free podcast class. Com. All right, now let's dive into this episode on how we can support each other in our businesses. One thing that I love about where I live is that this city that I live in is filled with budding entrepreneurs. Like, I am so inspired by our city and just all of the, like, fresh energy and the new ideas and the businesses that are opening. I grew up near where I live right now. And oh my gosh, our city has changed so much. And this episode is really inspired because I see so much community and collaboration happening in our city. And I feel like if that is not something you are experiencing as a small business owner, I want today to pique your curiosity and to challenge you to consider how can I work with other local entrepreneurs to reach raise up our local economy to support each other, but also to, like, not feel alone in this. I don't know about you, but, like, entrepreneurship can feel so isolating. It can feel so lonely. And so what better way to bring people into your world and your ecosystem to strategize together and to help each other out? And frankly, if I look at the headlines or the news, I feel like being a small business owner has never felt harder. And so one of the things that I think will cure that is coming together as a community. And so I am obsessed with Small Business Month. I'm loving celebrating it. I hope you're loving listening to it. And I just want to remind you these 10 things are not just like, feel good moments. These are real strategies. Like, I think that small businesses are going to have to get scrappy in order to survive. And so listen with an ear, not just of like, oh, that's a cute idea, but like, this might actually help us be, be more profitable or successful as a company. All right, so idea number one is this. How could you potentially curate or collaborate on an offer? So one thing we know is like, big brands have a lot of budgets, right? Like, budgets that small business owners could never even dream of. But small business owners, we've got taste. So what could it look like if you were to consider bundling your products or services with another business to create something super unique for your shared audience? Bonus points if it feels like a, like, we made this just for you moment really quick. So once a month there is this amazing studio near where I live and they do this like rest and restore night. It is the best thing. I've gone two months in a row and I'm like, this is just going to be on my calendar every month. And it is two women who are coming together. One of them, she does Reiki and cranial sacral therapy. The other one is a yoga instructor and breath work. And they come together and they host this like amazing night. Like, think like yoga meets, massage meets, Reiki meets sound bath. It's amazing. It's wonderful. And last night after the session, I stayed late and my sister came with me and we were just talking to the women. All of a sudden we're talking about another new, like, Pilates studio and like how they all teamed up and like all these different things. And I just felt like so much energy there and also just recommendation, right? So these two women are curating and collaborating on an offer. They're also getting awareness around their other offers. They're also sharing audiences. They're both promoting the offer. And so I just think it's amazing. Like, it's a way to share the love and share your audience. So are there other businesses in your area or even businesses online where you two could collaborate, could share audiences? Did you know that collaborative promotions between brands increase visibility by an average of 30% more than just solo campaigns? There is something so cool about getting exposed to new audience and just creating a really unique offer. So think about it like this. Like, let's say you're a family photographer. You could partner with say a local kids clothing brand. A website designer could partner with an amazing copywriter to deliver a totally done website. A candle company could partner with a Digital creator who makes a quick journal and a playlist download. If you're a personal chef, you could partner with a local small market to create free recipes with their goods. Like, there is so much room to curate and collaborate, both in person, but also virtually. And so I just want to consider, like, what could it look like? And who would you dream of partnering with? And maybe you can just start planting seeds now. I just think that this is one of the biggest missed opportunities. And not only does it expose you to new audiences, but it just gives you community. It gives you something where it is a shared goal. You both benefit. I mean, it's a win, win. So, number one, curate and collaborate on offers. Every time I see that happening, I'm like, it's genius. It's simple, it's mutually beneficial, and it's fun. Okay. Number two, you might not even know what I'm talking about when I say bring it back, Follow Fridays. And I want to bring them back with intention. Does anyone remember Follow Fridays? Okay, so Follow Fridays were this thing years ago. Now, I don't even know if this is something that, like, just I did or if it was, like, a trend. It was probably something that a lot of people did, but basically it was like, on Friday, your social content was to, like, call out and shout out your favorite entrepreneurs or influencers or small businesses on social media. Now it feels silly, but what is so cool about this is you were, like, sharing the love and the awareness and just bringing attention to things that you love. And. And back in the day, we used to get super strategic with this. So I remember I was in this group, it was like six women, and every Friday, we would rotate around and share another person in our little group with our audience. And so we just had a shared text thread, and it would be like, okay, Hillary's going to talk about Jenna, Jenna's going to talk about Taryn. And each week we would change it up, and we would supply images or any assets that somebody would need to be able to talk about us. And. And the biggest thing was, is, like, we wanted to keep it super personal. Like, you want to tell your followers why you love following this person or this brand or this business. And what's so cool is, is that, like, everybody wins. Especially when you kind of make it like a little circle where you're all sharing each other and it's super organic. Right? You naturally love them, so it's easy to talk about their content or their products or their services. And so what would that look like if you got together with some other small businesses. And you said, okay, every Friday or every Thursday or whatever day of the week you want to do. Could we do, like, a round drop and even just test it out for a month? You pick five creators, and for one month, you shout out a different business owner each week. Okay, now, one of the things to keep in mind, if you do this strategy, you don't want it to just be generic. You don't want just, like, quiet tags. You want personal words or experience. Like, tell a story about the first time you tried their product and how their work impacted you. Or post some Instagram stories talking about why you love following this person and how they inspired you. Like, it is so easy to talk about the things you love. And it's awesome when you can see, like, oh, my gosh, my audience would absolutely love this person, too. Again, it expands from this idea of, like, small business owners are all competing against each other. There's not enough to go around, and it builds up more community. Like, I am the kind of person, if you are a friend in my real life, and if we were to go get coffee, you better believe that when we are leaving our coffee date, I am sending you a text message with the three latest books. I read that podcast episode. I was referring to that product that I swear by that person that I was telling you about. Like, I love sharing recommendations. I cannot shut up about the things that I love. And that also goes for friends who tell me, like, I think you're going to love this as much as I do. Like, I know that so many people are struggling with the algorithm right now and getting their stuff seen and, like, getting it out there. And so one way to hack the algorithm, and I say hack with, like, air quotes, is to personally recommend things. It's like the algorithm is trying to guess. Like, okay, if somebody likes Jenna, then they're probably gonna like this person or this brand. But, like, hey, if we're just recommending the things that we know our followers will love, then we are doing the algorithms work for it. Like, this is God's work. Okay? And so there is a stat that doesn't lie surrounding this idea that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know over any other form of advertising. And parasocial relationships can be just as influential. So just know that this strategy, I think we should bring it back. I think we should bring it back with intention. I think we can bring it back with coordinated efforts, and I think it could just be a really fun way to get more eyes on our content. To share the love, to expose our audiences to other creators and businesses and offers that they might naturally love and also to get that back in return. Right? It is. You're giving and you're getting. It is beautiful. And just a quick reminder, you do not need to have a massive following to make a difference in this way. Just use your voice, show up, talk about what you love and why you love it. It is that powerful and it is so easy. And I am still friends with the people that I used to do follow Fridays with back in the day. So just want to say too, it's a beautiful bridge to make like real relationships with people and to just kind of come together and have that community spirit. Okay, number three, this is one of my favorite things to do and just saying this makes me want to redo it and update my current one. What am I talking about? Creating a local guide or like a niche guide. As someone who loves recommendations, I love sharing local businesses that I love, the places I love to go. I swear, every single week people drop into my DMs and they're like, hey, I'm coming to Duluth. Like, where should I eat? Should I make reservations? Where should I go? And let's just be honest, Amazon does not need more promotion, but your local coffee shop or your copywriter friend might so consider curating a local guide or a resource list that your audience actually wants to save, whether it is specific to your geographic area or specific to the niche you serve. If it's online offers. The thing is, is that it is so fun to put together these guides and like, shout out the places you love. Like, I have created local guides for places that we love to visit, like Scottsdale. I have one for Grand Marais, Minnesota. I have one for Duth. It's like favorite places to eat, favorite places to shop, favorite places to stay, favorite places to hike, like all the must dos and the must sees. And it's just so fun because I love these places and if I love them, I believe my audience will love them too. And so you can be the curator your audience didn't know they needed. Like, when you know you love something or you've experienced it or you do research, it feels backed. It's like there's this extra seal of approval from someone who did the work to create the recommendation. And in this world of AI, personal experiences and recommendations are the differentiator. Right? You could go on to ChatGPT and be like, hey, I'm going to Duluth, Minnesota. Make me a travel guide. Great one. It might be Sourcing content from things like the blog posts I've created. But two, you don't necessarily know why you should go to these places. When people are visiting your area, they want to feel like they're getting in on a little underground secret, like they're discovering the best hidden gems that are right in their neighborhood that they're visiting. And so just consider creating some sort of local guide. And here's the thing. Whenever I've done this and I share it, I tag all the businesses in that local guide and guess what? They start sharing that local guide as well. Because they're featured in it. It is literally free promotion for them. And so not only are they sharing it on social, they're sharing it with their communities. And so it is an amazing way to also unconsciously expose you and your content or the way that you curate in a beautiful way while you're supporting them and they're supporting you. Again, can you sense a theme here? There is so much community to be had and I am just here for it. Like, maybe there is a local bakery where the focaccia is so good it makes you weep. Or maybe there are a few freelance friends who could use a summer client boost. Or maybe you have a few favorite spots. You get all of your best birthday presents that you're finally willing to share with the world. I know that place with the great birthday cards is hard to give up, but giving them business might just mean that they can stick around for a lot more birthdays. So just consider what this could mean to other people. And in creating it, once you have this content that lives on. Like, I am sending my travel guide to people every single week and I created it a year or two ago, which is why I was just thinking I should probably update that because there's so many more hidden gems. In Duluth, Minnesota, now, 83% of consumers are more likely to purchase something based on a recommendation from someone they trust. And so again, you get to put the microphone up to your lips and shout out the places you love. And if you're wondering, okay, well, what would this look like? You know, I've given you some ideas, but here are a few more lists that you could actually make. You could do like 10 local gifts I'd actually buy, or the Go to Creative toolkit, which is like all of your favorite freelancers. Or the Small Business Holiday Survival guide, or the best local spots for co working that aren't your dining room table. Like, there's so many ways you can make it fun. Shout out the businesses, make sure. You promote and tag that. You've created this article with them. They can leverage it, they can use it, and it's just a win, win, win. And I love doing it because if you're going to get asked about it, you might as well be able to say, hey, I actually created something for you to answer this question. Amazing. Okay, number four, feature other businesses in your content. I'm talking newsletters, podcast intros, blog posts, Instagram stories. These are all spaces where your platform becomes a spotlight for someone else. The algorithm might be unpredictable, but generosity is going to win every single day of the week. Even when we were brainstorming this month, Small Business Month, we were thinking through, like, how can we feature stories from our listeners? We have an episode with some of our listeners. Every episode, we've been putting in a listener spotlight. Like, there are so many ways that you can use your platform, even if it is small, to highlight and feature other people. And it's so easy and it becomes natural and it is so life giving. Like every single episode of this podcast, I want to shout out a different creator, a different business owner, a different service. I've used a different platform that I love. Like, I love doing that. And so if you haven't done that in the past, here's your invitation again. You don't need to dedicate a massive spotlight here. Even just 30 seconds in your Instagram story can mean a new client for someone or can simply just make their day. I mentioned a friend's virtual assistant biz in an email to she got three inquiries in like 10 minutes and it took two lines to write it. That's it. Here's a really quick and easy tip here. Writers often overlook like a little PS or like a just a little nudge, but readers do not. So maybe every single time you reach out, you do a post, you send out a newsletter, you do a podcast intro or outro, or you have a blog post. Think of a way that you could just feature in somebody else. Maybe you could just say, like, this week I am loving or have I told you about blank? Or I found myself Googling X and here's the solution I found. Like, loop it in to your content as a natural extension. And the more that you do it, the more natural it becomes and the more that you are just leading with a generous spirit that can totally change somebody's week, month or even year. I promise you, it is so easy to do and it's so fun. And a lot of times, giving without expecting to receive anything is the best way Karma comes back around babies, I'm telling you. Okay, number five, we are halfway done with my ideas. Okay? Support other people's launches like they're your own launch. Be the kind of friend who hypes up someone else's launch, not just like double taps it. And keep scrolling. Consider how you can hype them up and share their content. Like, whether you're sharing their posts, you're commenting with context, you're giving your own experience, you're even maybe mentioning it to your own audience. Support doesn't always have to be financial. Sometimes it's visibility, it's being vocal, it's being public about something. It was so funny the other day. I was talking to my best friend Amy, who you probably know, and we were talking about my launch and she started responding and she kept saying the word we and it was my launch. I was by myself in this launch. I was struggling with something and she kept saying we. And she's like, okay, so here's what we're gonna do. Here's this. We are going to. And I just responded with her and I said, just saying that word we made me feel so much less alone. And the same goes when other people are putting big things out into the world. It is terrifying, it is usually overwhelming. It can be stressful, it can be anxiety inducing. And making somebody feel like they are not alone in any type of launch, whether it's a product, a service, an offer, a course. Like what? Whatever it is. Launching is not for the faint of heart. And so how can you come in and support people during a launch? This is when people are most emotionally vulnerable. Let me tell you this. I've launched a bajillion things in the last decade. I know. And so your words might be the reason they keep going. It might be the reason they don't give up. It might be the reason their business has the best tier ever. It might be the reason that a new person finds a solution they were looking for. Like, you can be the best hype person and this doesn't mean you have to do any of it. For affiliate marketing, you can. I mean, it's a great way to support somebody and also benefit from it. But it could be as simple as a voice note or a personal comment or an encouragement around their launch. Focus. Social posts. Like, we all know what it feels like when you post, like a really random post and it takes off and you're like, awesome. And then you go to talk about your business and it's like straight up crickets, like getting people to rally around that type of content can totally change the game. Check this out later media says that posts with personal commentary get two times more engagement than just reposting alone. So if you could even hop in and be like, I love this, or, I'm so proud of you, I know how hard you've been working on this. Or I see you, you're putting this out there, it's going to change lives. Whatever. That is amazing, but I just think it is a really awesome way of like, paying attention to what your friends are launching, checking in on them, supporting them, being there for them, making it feel like instead of a me thing, it's a we thing. I'm telling you, it can change the game. Okay, number six, this is kind of a fun one. Kind of a little out of the box. Again, something that I think we could bring back as small business owners is doing some sort of joint giveaway or some way to collaboratively build your email list. Now, you know, I am obsessed with email list building. I have been talking about it for years and years and years. An email list is an incredible asset for your business. And I think that if you can partner up with somebody with growing your list is the goal. Not just beating the algorithm, not just getting a lot of engagement, but really prioritizing your email list. I think it could be super beneficial. You could host the giveaway or the collaboration on Instagram. But I would say that if you are going to consider doing this, do it in a way where you are partnering up with somebody that can increase your reach. You are giving your audiences something super fun and valuable, and you're thinking strategically about keeping the prize aligned with what your offer is or what you hope the result is for you in order to attract the right people. So this is kind of an idea that I used to do. We used to do really fun giveaways, and I would partner up with with different creators that served similar audiences. Right. There was a lot of synergy there. It was fun. We were happy to share audiences with one another. And so you want to make sure that you're choosing something that is in alignment with where you want people to go after. So you don't want just like a generic gift card or, you know, maybe a cash giveaway. Unless you feel like whoever you're partnering up with has the audience that you want to serve and then eventually sell to. But you want to think through strategically, okay, how do we really align with our audiences? You don't want it to just be big. You want it to be really effective. And that's where giveaways work. I think a lot of times people get really caught up on making it super shiny and getting really big numbers or really big results. But I want alignment here. So, like, as an example, a brand photographer could join forces with a marketing mastermind, and you could create something where it's like a brand giveaway, where then the marketing mastermind takes all the assets from the photo shoot and they turn them into marketing arsenal. Right? Like something where then you're like, okay, business owners are going to enter this giveaway because they want this thing. And we serve business owners. So this makes sense. And so consider just thinking through, okay, who would be a great partner for this? Who has aligned audiences? What is a giveaway that we could do? What would we feel good about? Like, even if we got 50 people on our email list from it, do we feel confident that from those 50 people we could sell one or two and make up the expense of the giveaway? If the answer is yes and those numbers make sense, dude, go for it. But what's so cool is, is that you can help each other grow the right kind of following again. You can go back to number one where you're collaborating and you're partnering and you're working together. Maybe you even dream up a new offer in the process. But I think that giveaways can be super effective and fun. Just make sure that you're not just looking at, like, shiny results. You're looking at results that actually lead to something tangible in your business. And I would always argue if there's a way to use it to grow your email list. Go for it. Go for it. Okay, number seven, consider creating some sort of local, like, strategy share or a mastermind. How can you team up with other people in your area that really understand what you do? Maybe the challenges you're facing, maybe the unique things about living where you live or people that are in your industry where you get to get together and share. This could be a casual monthly zoom. You could create a Slack channel. You could even just have a shared Google Doc where you're dropping in your wins or what you're working on. But this has been such a pivotal piece of my growth, and I will tell you, I came to enjoy this later in my career. So I was like, solo on an island for years and years and years. Like, I didn't have a lot of industry friends. I didn't really share a lot. Like, I kind of kept to myself, just kept my head down, kept the blinders on, and started moving forward. And I will tell you that there is so much wealth in partnering up with other people, in sharing your experiences, in having people to ask questions to you, in leaning on one another in the community. Again, whether it's virtual or local, this isn't gatekeeping. It is generous entrepreneurship. Everybody wins in this scenario. I think that what's interesting is that a lot of times entrepreneurs try to be proprietary in their ideas or their knowledge or their skill sets. We truly do not need more secrets, especially in this era that we're finding ourselves in as small business owners. We are not here to gatekeep anymore. What we do need is more shared wins. Like, I want this podcast here to be a shared win. This is why I want to come on here and, like, talk strategy and teach and give you actionable things that you can take away. I recently flew out to Nashville for a few days and I met with five women. So there's five of us. And it was like, super random. It was a very last minute. Like, I booked my flight the week before and we had no, like, fancy hotel. We literally all stayed at my friend Amy's house. We sat on the couch. We didn't have an agenda. There were no centerpieces. We doordashed food in. It was the most informal but fabulous mastermind. And we did hot seats. So every person went around and they had a problem or a question that they wanted to solve. We spent time working on each other's businesses. We were pulling up computers and walking through different things that were working and not working. We were sharing different strategies. Like, it was amazing. And all we had to pay for was our expense to get there in our doordash. Like, we didn't. Nobody was making money. It was literally just like, girls, get together and let's talk. I even shared a bed with somebody who I literally met the day before. Like, we were like, the more the merrier. Get in here, Come sleep next to me. I just met you. I love you. I know your business well. And so it was just awesome. And I have noticed that my problems get solved way faster when I am in community with other people. And I always leave with a deeper connection and a reminder that I am not in this alone. And I feel like that in and of itself is so invaluable. Here's an encouraging statistic that backs this up. Entrepreneurs in peer Mastermind groups are 30% more likely to report business growth year over year. So when you consider getting in community with other business owners, again, either locally or digitally, however you want to do it, you will likely experience Growth because you are sharing ideas and you are coming together. People could look at the group that I was with in Nashville and be like, those are your competitors. And I will say, day in and day out, there is enough to go around. And when we come together, we all win. I will say that full stop. As a reminder here, you don't need to get on a plane to experience this. You can wrangle up some folks at a local coffee shop or book a room at the library or hop on a zoom call or create a slack channel. Like, just get creative here, but get people together. And I have found, like, my favorite ones are ones where, like, you're not paying a facilitator. You're all just coming hungry to help each other. And to work together doesn't have to be overly structured. It can simply just be a space to say, hey, here's what's working. Here's what's not working. Try this tool. Or like, I need help in this area. I will argue until I'm blue in the face that this will be the way that small business owners survive is coming together and sharing and just being open and vulnerable until the day I die. This is it. Okay, Number eight, Trading services or bartering skills. I have been thinking about this so much lately in so many different contexts. I mean, as I am recording this, I'm looking at my garden and I'm noticing, like, our rhubarb plant is getting big. Maybe eventually I'll be able to share rhubarb and trade it with somebody else. Or once our chickens finally start laying eggs, like, I can give somebody eggs and in exchange I can get some peppers or whatever that is. Like, I think that there's so much beauty in bartering and recognizing your own talents and your the value that you can bring, but also somebody else's. And so have you considered that lately? Especially when I feel like people are hesitant to spend money or they're just a little bit anxious about the uncertain future that we might be facing. What would it look like instead of trading money, trading your time and talent, maybe you could shoot product photos in exchange for web design. Or maybe a wellness coach could trade a session with a graphic designer. A trade can be just as valuable as a paid invoice. In fact, I'd argue sometimes it can be even more valuable. Plus, it allows you to build relationships and trust. Now, I have been somebody forever that I'm like, time is my currency. And I feel like so many people think like, cash is the currency. But I will argue, especially today Trust and talent are also currency. Maybe after you listen to this episode, you sit down and you think, okay, what do I actually need right now? This could be in life, this could be in business. But really thinking through, okay, what am I in need of and what could I offer? And maybe consider scenarios where you partner up with somebody and everyone can walk away with something valuable and spend. Spend $0. I will never forget one of the first weddings I ever booked as a wedding photographer. The bride really wanted me to shoot her wedding and she was like, okay, this is the budget I have. I can't pay you your full price, but my mom owns a hair salon and she will do your hair for free for the next year to make up for the amount that I can't pay you. And it was amazing. At that time, I was all in. I loved her mom. I got to know her mom so well. I love their family so much. I got free haircuts and colors for an entire year to make up. And we both walked away feeling amazing. Right? There are so many different ways that you can barter and you can add value. And I would just consider, like, how can you think of a way to value somebody else and give them a proposition that feels beneficial to all right? You're recognizing a need that they might have. They have something that you might want. How do you do that? One thing I will say is you want to make sure that you do not burn any bridges in this process. So you want to make sure that it feels like a fair trade, that everybody walks away happy. And you want to make sure that you have very clear delivery guidelines. Like, so everybody feels like it was a win, win, win. So do not leave any room for confusion here. Make sure that you lead with clarity. And I would also just say, like small business owner to small business owner, overvalue what they do, don't undervalue it. Right? Don't just like, look for a deal. I think, though, that collaborating and trading and bartering is an amazing way to save some money, to really work your talent and to build relationships. So if that's something you haven't considered, consider it. And I bet too, there are so many people inside of my community in our Facebook group that would be up for doing trades if you have something of value and they have something of value. And just again, make sure you have very clear expectations there so nobody gets burned. Okay, number nine, consider hosting an event or a pop up together. You can do so many different collaborations, whether it's virtual or in person, to create buzz and to Double your exposure. Think Instagram Lives workshops, Zoom calls, pop ups panels. Like again, it doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to be really aligned, blind and fun. And what I think is really awesome is like you do not need a sold out event or a thousand RSVPs for something to be meaningful. Even an Instagram Live with 20 viewers could be a really powerful moment. Again, we're talking about exposure, we're talking about positioning you as an expert, we're talking about collaboration. So here are some ideas around this. So you could co host a virtual workshop or a series. You could host a pop up booth together at a local market. So you could split the cost of having a booth and do something together. You could curate a themed panel with aligned voices, whether that's on a zoom call or virtual event. Or in person, you could host a business besties or a local women in business brunch. Like have people over. I'm like, that would be so fun. You could host regular co working days that pop up all over your town. This is something that I want to do. I was talking to my sister about it is like, what if every Wednesday we go to a different coffee shop and we just like work together. We're sharing space together, we're sharing energy, but we're both head down getting our work done. You could do a run and done event where you go for a run together and finish at a coffee shop where you talk through different business support. Like loop in things that you love with people you love at places you love. It's an amazing thing to do. You know, I was even thinking after our Nashville mastermind, like, what if we hopped on a Zoom call and we just invited our communities to come on and they can hear us talking through what's working, what's not working? Like that would be so valuable. It'd be a way to expose each other to our audiences. Like there's just so much, so many ways that you can host something as a collective and everybody wins. And so whether again, it's local or it's digital, I mean consider it. It could be super fun. Okay, last one is this. Be proud to be a small business. Like, you do not have to act like a big brand to succeed. In fact, your size is your superpower. Talk about it in your content. Highlight the humans behind the brand. Remind people that their support changes real lives. Just yesterday I went to a local boutique and I loved the owner so much and she has a daughter similar to my youngest age. And I was like, can we get the girls Together. And, you know, I was so fascinated by her business, I wanted to ask her a million questions, like, what are your margins and how is this working? And what are the best ways you advertise? And like, I am so nosy when it comes to small businesses because I want to know, like, how is this working and how is this making sense and like, how are you getting paid what you're worth? And I just feel like the more that you can let people in to your small business and tell them exactly how to support you the most, the more successful you'll be. I don't know if you guys experience this at all, but I'll never forget, like during COVID when I was seeing some of my favorite businesses close down and I was so disappointed because I wished that they would have shared like, hey, we are looking at potentially closing our doors. Like, this might not work. Here is how you can support us as like a final rally. Because there were so many businesses we would have rallied behind or known how to best support them if we knew that they were in a make or break scenario. And so when you can be proud that you're a small business and share different things, that will highlight, here's what we need or here's how we survive, or here's where we make most of our profits, or this is the best way you can support us. People know what to do. Like, people probably love what you do and they want to support you. Here's the deal. 70% of consumers say they are more likely to buy from a business where they feel a personal connection. So how can you bring the personal connection to your brand? How can you show your face, talk about why you started this, talk about what you love, introduce your team, talk about customers, people that support you. Like, how can you share that your small size actually allows you, I will argue, to connect deeper, to move quicker, and to respond with a more human to human way. Especially in this rare world that we're in where AI is booming and we're like, okay, who is actually real anymore? So how can you bring more human to human inside of your marketing, inside of your business, inside of your interactions? I love small businesses and I think that we should be so proud of the work that we're doing and the way that we're doing it. And you can always remind your customers you're not just supporting a brand, you're supporting a dream. I think that's just huge. I think when people connect with the vision and they see all that goes into it, they are far more likely to Support your business and so do not shy away from sharing those aspects that make you you. That make you an amazing small business. Okay, I hope you loved this episode because in a world that often celebrates convenience over connection and profit over people, I think small businesses are faced with this opportunity to create something different, something more meaningful. And this episode is just a reminder that, like, when we come together and when we lift each other up, we will all rise. Times are uncertain right now, right? It feels sketchy out there, and I feel like the only way through this is to move through it together. This is Small Business Month and I am loving it. But I think every month should be Small Business Month. Consider how you can come together with other small businesses. Reach out, collaborate, cheer each other on, start something together. Just say that you're noticing their hard work. Like anything, we need to move together as a collective. That is it. That is the full stop. And to this episode. Okay? I hope you love today's episode. I can't wait to hear which strategies you want to implement. You should hop into our Facebook group, our Goal Digger Podcast Insiders group. There are tens of thousands of you in there, collaborating, working together, troubleshooting. If you're not in there, make sure you get in there. I'm going to link it for you in the show notes in the show description for this episode. I would love to meet you inside of there and I want to hear which strategy you're going to implement and with whom. I can't wait to see you guys raise each other up. All right, until next time, Gold diggers, keep on digging your biggest goals. Happy Smile Business Month. I think it's every month, but especially this month. And next time you come to listen to the show, bring someone with you. If you know somebody that you want to team up with, send them this episode as proof of these ideas and these concepts so that you can implement together with strategy and ease and you can get the results you're deeply desiring. All right, I'll talk to you next time. Thanks for tuning in. Thanks for pulling up a seat for another episode of the Gold Digger podcast. I hope today's episode fueled you with inspiration, gave you information that you can turn into action, and realigned you with your true north in life and business. If you've enjoyed today's episode, head on over to gold diggerpodcast.com for today's show notes, discount codes for our sponsors, freebies to fuel your results, and so much more. And if you haven't yet, make sure you're subscribed so that you never miss a future show. We'll see you next time, gold diggers.