Today I wanted to talk about the importance of focusing on community rather than competition

when you are starting out in your business, or in fact, any stage of your business! I think that sometimes there is this fear of people doing the same thing as you. And in the last few days, lots of things have happened for me that have just reminded me of the importance of having that community of like minded business owners; people you can bounce ideas off, get support from and be inspired by. And it really doesn't matter. If people, you know,"do the same thing!" Because, in reality, nobody does the same thing. Because the difference between you and the person at the table across from you is YOU!! You are the difference. You are you and they are them and you both are unique for that very reason. So it doesn't matter if you offer the same service, because some people are going to be drawn to you and some people are going to be drawn to them, that's just the way that it works.

I was at an event on Saturday with about 12 different women. And I'd say probably 90% of that room were coaches, but it didn't matter. It didn't mean that we couldn't share our ideas in case, you know, someone stole an idea or we felt comparisonitis with these other people!! It didn't feel like that because it was a genuine connection, where you realise that you can be inspired by others and you can support each other and you can get ideas and you can help each other because you're not really going to be in competition. A client is not going to choose you over them or them over you because of an idea. Really, clients choose people because they choose the person. People buy from people. So, we have to get over this fear of competition, and this and this idea of comparing ourselves because we're all different, and we're all unique. And what makes us unique is simply who we are. You are you and I am me and that's what makes us different

Once you come into that space of recognising the importance of that community, so much can can come from it, you can feel so much more inspired, you can get some great ideas, you can get different perspectives, people can open up ideas that you hadn't thought of yourself and then you can just run with loads of different thoughts. And the beauty as well of having these kinds of communities is it leads to my favourite thing in the world, which is collaborations - I just think there's so much magic in a collaboration because you've got two minds coming together and so it's like double the energy, double the ideas, double the inspiration and then what you're able to offer people is both of you, you know, it's like two for the price of one! People can sign up to something that you have created between the two of you and they're getting two minds, two different opinions and two sets of energy. So collaborations are so, so important and just so exciting! I've had two conversations this week about two possible collaborations with some lovely business friends of mine and you could say that both the conversations I had were with people who essentially do something very similar to what I do. So you could think that it's a competition or a conflict, but when you stop viewing it that way, you can see look at what things you can bring to a partnership and what things that someone else can bring to it, and that can just lead to beautiful, beautiful things.

So I just wanted to remind you of this, if you are in business, or you're thinking of starting in business, get those people around you, find the people that do business like you do business, everyone's different, but if you can find people that have those common values and common themes, then there therein lies the magic!

I hope this inspires you to go out, get networking and find your tribe! If you are yet to discover yours, you are more than welcome to come and join me in my membership, The BBLL Club which takes you from business beginners to leading ladies. In the club, we are all about supporting and nurturing and developing our businesses, and our lives, to support that business. I help you with your mindset, your confidence, and also the practical tools you need when you're starting out in your business - to get the basics in place and to get things off the ground and build your confidence to step into that role of business owner, get yourself out there and show up online.

So if you want to find out more, take a look here. For just £15 a month or £150 for the whole year you can be part of a wonderful tribe of business women! I'd love to see you there.

I hope this helps!

Rachel x