Lack of Collaboration Hinders Personal and Business Growth

I love experimenting and trying new business models. Every week new business ideas pop into my head. The problem is I don’t have the capital or time to get myself into 95% of my ideas. So I keep them in the backburner and wait for the right opportunity. Some of these ideas I end up sharing with clients if I am lucky I get paid so they can execute them. Instead of having these ideas go to waste, why not share them with someone that can take advantage of them.

In the environment I am in, I am usually around most people who are scared of sharing ideas because someone might take steal their concept and run with it. But how valuable is an idea that cannot be executed because of lack of resources? Many of us saw the movie Social Network and saw how in the movie the character playing Mark Zuckerberg conveys the message that nobody else in the room could have created Facebook because they lacked the knowledge and possibly resources.

The attitude of keeping everything secret and not wanting to collaborate with others thinking others will benefit from their ideas is one of the reasons Puerto Rico produces very little to export. The lack of a collaborative spirit creates a huge wall that we can’t individually jump over.

Sometimes I don’t blame many individuals because many people here are always getting ready to eject and go their own way and benefit completely from whatever was created without sharing.

So how can we fix this issue of Safeguarding ideas that most of us will never use?

• Look for a channel where ideas can be put into place and you can receive credit or economical benefit.
• Create additional services, which can be attractive for many of us to go after by testing the waters. I am currently offering Translation Services in the process of getting the last touches into place. I will not be doing all the translations but I can clearly make sure the other factors like customer service and the adequate platform for people to reach the services is well taken care of.
• Find someone that needs help and give them a small push so they can move their business forward. I have shared my ideas with many small business owners and they have taken ownership of them (which makes me happy because it means my idea made some sense).
• Join a forum like Kitchen Table Companies (Affiliate Link) and share your idea. You might be able to identify resources or knowledge you needed to get the project off the table. At Kitchen Table Companies many small business owners end up capturing many great ideas we can put into play. The best part is that the forum is closed to a few selected groups of people, which are all in there to learn and collaborate.
• Look for ways to test the idea that  does not involve sacrificing a huge sum of resources. For example setting up a simple landing page on a site might help you with getting a service off the floor.
• Look for partners in getting the idea of the floor. But make sure you choose your partner wisely . I see many organizations and individuals failing because they have established partnerships with people that are not ready to collaborate.

If you have an idea and are not willing to share please don’t mention the idea. The message you are giving me is the following:

I have an idea but I don’t trust you with it. 

I follow my favorite quote.

“Love Everyone Trust No One, and there are exceptions to the Rule”

How do you view collaboration?

What is the most important part of being able to collaborate and share ideas?

Do you see any value in this approach?

by Mundilfari*