How to Use Collaboration to Grow Your Business Faster

After more than a decade in business, I can say with certainty that some of my biggest growth moments didn’t come from doing more or being everywhere.

 

They came from relationships. From borrowing trust. From being in rooms where people already believed.

 

And yet, I see so many early-stage entrepreneurs trying to grow entirely on their own.

 

When we talk about growing a business, we often hear that there are three ways to grow an audience: you can build one, you can buy one, or you can borrow one.

 

Collaboration is one of the most effective ways to borrow an audience—but more importantly, it’s a way to borrow trust.

 

Too many entrepreneurs assume growth comes from more content, more platforms, and more consistency. But often the real issue isn’t effort—it’s isolation. Trying to grow alone is exhausting, and it’s rarely the fastest or most sustainable path forward.

 

When I talk about collaboration, I’m not talking about random Instagram Lives, “support for support,” or vague exposure swaps.

 

The kind of collaboration that actually works is rooted in borrowed trust, shared authority, and proximity to buyers who already believe. Collaboration works especially well for small businesses because people don’t buy based on reach—they buy through relationships.

 

We see big brands collaborating all the time, but this strategy can be even more powerful when applied intentionally in small businesses.

 

Before pitching a collaboration, it helps to run potential partners through a simple filter. Do you serve the same type of person? Are you solving adjacent problems? Would this collaboration make a buying decision easier for the audience?

 

The best collaborations feel like a handoff, not a promotion. They should feel aligned, natural, and mutually beneficial on both sides.

 

One of the biggest mistakes I see entrepreneurs make is leading with the pitch instead of the relationship.

 

Strong collaboration starts with genuine curiosity. Whether I’m meeting someone through a referral, a warm introduction, or a cold message, my focus is always on learning about them first. What are they working on this year? Who do they love helping? What matters to them?

 

Bad pitch energy is vague, desperate, and self-focused.

 

Good pitch energy is clear, respectful, and rooted in reciprocity.

 

There are so many effective ways to collaborate beyond social media posts.

Guest teaching inside someone’s paid or private space is one of the highest-converting forms of collaboration because you’re introduced in a moment of trust. Co-creating an asset—like a workshop, guide, or mini training—allows you to share effort, audience, and long-term value.

 

Podcast guesting and swaps are another powerful option, especially when the conversation aligns naturally with both audiences. Adjacent service partnerships—like designers and copywriters or therapists and coaches—also work exceptionally well because they serve the same buyer with different needs.

 

In my experience, the strongest collaborations usually come from businesses that are adjacent, not identical.

 

When competition is removed from the equation, relationships stay clean and mutually supportive. One strong partnership in each category is often far more effective than trying to collaborate with everyone.

 

Depth matters more than volume, and clarity matters more than exposure.

 

Growth doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from being in better rooms.

Collaboration is leverage. It’s not charity, and it’s not about exposure for exposure’s sake. One-off collaborations rarely convert. Repetition builds trust, and trust builds businesses.

 

If building your business feels exhausting right now, it might be because you’re trying to do it alone.

 

2026 is not the year we do this alone.

 

Whether through collaboration, community, or intentional relationship-building, your business will grow faster—and feel lighter—when you stop trying to carry everything by yourself.

 

Thank you for being here, and thank you for letting me be one of your collaborators as you grow your business.