Yes! That's me in the image promoting a friend's brand at an event... but more on that soon.

I've been thinking a lot about competition lately, and specifically about how we choose to behave when we're working in the same industry as other people doing similar things.

I had a conversation this week that reminded me of something I've experienced more than once: a client of mine told me that someone they were working with as a Coach, had advised them not to invest in my business.

What disappointed me was that this advice came from people I’ve actually worked with, employed, invested in and championed within my own network. Meanwhile, the client has stayed with me and is getting great results in the Talent Agency upselling nine students to classes and 4 new students (and counting). So it really made me question why we sometimes feel the need to undermine others in our own industry rather than champion them.

Especially when, in this particular situation, I'd actually had a positive relationship with the person involved. So, yes, it was disappointing.

But it also made me think about the kind of industry I want to be part of.

I'm a big believer in championing other people.

I genuinely love seeing other business owners succeed (especially in the arts), even when technically we're operating in the same space. I don't believe someone else's success takes anything away from mine. In fact, I think the opposite is true.

When we share ideas, collaborate, recommend each other and create opportunities for one another, we make the entire industry stronger.

I've been listening to Emma Grede's Aspire podcast recently, and she spoke about something similar - the way scarcity can sometimes show up between women in business, particularly when people start worrying that someone else's success might somehow threaten their own position. And I think that's such an interesting thing to reflect on.

Because what happens when we stop thinking, "What if they get ahead of me?" and start thinking, "What could we create together?"

I've seen this play out recently in other industries too. Businesses that could easily be perceived as competitors are choosing to collaborate instead.

They're putting their audiences together, sharing platforms and creating something bigger than either business could have created alone.

And that's the energy I want to bring into my own industry.

I actually experienced this in a very practical way recently when I spent two days supporting my friend Simone from Disinfluencer at the Disability Expo. Simone has a talent agency arm within her business, and yes, technically, we operate in a similar space.

But I didn't spend two days worrying about that.

I spent two days helping my friend have a great expo, connect with people, generate leads and get the most out of the opportunity. Because that's what I believe good colleagues, good friends and good industry people do.

A little back step here: one of the clients I mentioned earlier completely backed their decision to work with me. In fact, they told the person questioning their investment that they couldn't afford not to continue, because the results they'd already achieved included more student enrolments and an injection of energy that her studio needed.

That made me proud.

Not because someone else was wrong, but because the client knew the value they'd received.

And ultimately, that's where I think we should all put our energy.

Build something good. Deliver for your people. Let your results speak. Champion others. Collaborate where you can.

And if someone else is doing something great, you don't have to tear them down to make yourself look bigger.

There truly is room for all of us.

How awesome would our industry look if more of us genuinely believed that. 💜

Curious about Studio Talent Collective? Learn more here: https://www.studiotalentcollective.com/agency 

✨Thanks for reading xx Josephine