The Strategic Entrepreneur

256: Why Your Competition Should Be Your Collaboration (The Abundance Revolution)

• Cindy Gordon - Execution Coach | Reality Check Method • Season 4 • Episode 256

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Why Your Competition Should Be Your Collaboration (The Abundance Revolution)

What if the people you see as competition are actually your key to growth? In this game-changing episode, Cindy Gordon shares how a travel blogger mastermind taught her that collaboration beats competition every time. Discover the "hype woman method" for turning competitors into collaborators and why supporting others multiplies your own success.

In this episode, you'll discover:

  • Why competition is a scarcity mindset keeping you small
  • The rising tide principle that grows all businesses faster
  • How supporting "competitors" led to 60% of new clients
  • The 5 strategic collaboration strategies that multiply growth
  • Why gatekeeping knowledge keeps YOU stuck
  • How to find and cultivate your hype people
  • The ROI of being a business cheerleader
  • Real examples from masterminds where competition doesn't exist

Perfect for: Female entrepreneurs tired of competing, business owners seeking collaboration, anyone stuck in scarcity mindset, and leaders ready to build abundance communities.

Key insight: "When you're around abundance, it always seems to happen quicker."

Stop competing. Start collaborating. The rising tide is waiting to lift your boat.

💌 Join 1,500+ entrepreneurs receiving weekly strategic insights and business clarity frameworks - sign up now! https://cindygordon.myflodesk.com/countmein

Connect with Cindy Gordon -

a few years back when I was deep into the food and travel blogging space, I joined a travel blogger mastermind. That completely changed how I view business. So in this space, it was filled with women who were writing on the same topics, covering. Similar destinations and technically competing for the same opportunities and all trying to rank for the same SEO keyword terms, but you know what was completely absent from that room competition. Instead, there was this electric energy of support, I would hear things like, Hey, you're going to Bali. Let me introduce you to my contact there. Or your article got rejected from MSN. Let me show you how I'd reframe that. That's when I learned the secret that transformed a part of my business. The people who you think are your competition should actually be your collaboration. Hi, I'm Cindy Gordon and you are listening to The Overwhelmed Entrepreneur, and today is inspired by the Hype Woman revolution and my own journey from scarcity to abundance. And we are talking about why supporting others, even your competition is the fastest way to grow your business. We've been programmed to believe that business is a zero sum game. If she wins, I lose. If she gets a client, I don't, if she succeeds, there's less success available for me. But here's what that Travel Blogger Mastermind taught me and what I now see proven daily in my private business owners group where we fully believe that rising tides lifts all boats. That competition is an illusion. It's scarcity mindset. It's a trick that keeps us all playing small. Think about it. When you're in competition mode, you are hoarding information, watching others suspiciously, comparing constantly operating from fear and shrinking your energy. But when you shift to collaboration mode, everything changes. You expand, you create, you attract, you multiply. I'm part of a private business owners group where nobody gate keeps, and I mean nobody. These are successful entrepreneurs. Some seven, eight figures who could easily. Hoard their secrets, but instead everybody is a cheerleader. And you know what happens? We all grow faster. Last month someone shared their entire launch strategy. Yesterday, three people offered to make introductions for another member who's expanding into a new market. This isn't charity. This is strategic abundance. when you operate from abundance, it always seems to happen quicker. When you're around abundance, you become abundant. Here's your reality. Check. There are about 8 billion people on the planet. There is room at the table for all of us. The entrepreneur you're competing with, she cannot serve everyone and neither can you, but together, together you can create something bigger than either of you could alone so what does it mean to be a hype woman in business? It's not just empty cheerleading or fake support. It's strategic collaboration that lifts everyone. So let me break it down. How I see it works. I want you to be the first to celebrate when someone in your industry wins. Be the first to celebrate, publicly, comment, share, send a congratulations message. This isn't about being fake. It's about being truly genuine and finding joy in other people's success. Share the spotlight. Got featured somewhere, mentioned the other experts speaking at an event, recommend others for next time. The spotlight is not a limited resource. I want you to connect generously become a connector. You should meet so and so. That becomes your favorite phrase. When you connect two people who can help each other, you become invaluable to both teach what you know. I want you to amplify others. Use your platform no matter how small to amplify others' voices. Share their content. Mention their work. Invite them to collaborate. When you collaborate instead of compete, a few things happen. You reduce stress and anxiety, you increase creativity and innovation. You build a support network for tough times. You create compound growth through partnerships, and you become known as a connector and a leader. So if you are stuck in competition, here is how to shift to collaboration. These are the exact strategies that I use. Strategy number one, the weekly hype is what I like to call it every week publicly. Celebrate someone in your industry. Share their win, their content, their wisdom. Make it genuine and specific. Strategy number two is the introduction habit. Make one strategic introduction weekly. Connect two people who could benefit from knowing each other, become the hub of your network. Strategy number three is the knowledge share. Share one piece of valuable knowledge weekly. A template, a strategy, a contract, a resource. Give away what others are gatekeeping. I'm not saying give it all away, I'm saying come from abundance. Strategy number four,, the abundance Check-in. When you feel those competitive feelings rising, stop and ask yourself, how can I support this person instead, that transforms, envy into strategy. Definitely along the way, I have learned that you need to actively seek out your hype people. They don't just appear. You have to find them. nurture those relationships and create those spaces. So that's why I created 11 Zs. It's a free coffee chat on Zoom the first Tuesday of every month for business owners who come together. We share wins, get support, and collaborate instead of compete. We're not gatekeeping, we're not competing. Just pure support and strategic thinking together. And that is also exactly why I am building out a new container for female entrepreneurs who feel like their business is slipping away despite trying everything. It's for women who feel exhausted from guessing, tweaking, pivoting, and hoping something sticks. In this new container, I help you find out exactly what needs a small adjustment and what needs a full strategic reset. Using your data instead of your fears or assumptions, no second guessing every single move. And yes, it is coming in quarter 1 20 26. In this space, there will be a lot of collaboration and I cannot wait to share it with you, but you don't need a formal group to start. You can start using the tips and strategies that I mentioned earlier in the podcast. The biggest shift is internal here. You have to genuinely believe that there is enough for everyone. This isn't toxic positivity. It's mathematical reality. If you're a business coach and there are 30 million small businesses in the US alone, and you can only serve a hundred clients max, that means that you can't help nearly 29 million other businesses. Isn't it better if other coaches help them? When my friend lands a huge client, my first thought used to be, why not me? And now it's proof that clients are investing at that level. Her success doesn't take from mine. It expands what's possible for all of us. This is the abundance revolution. When we all rise together, we all rise higher than we could alone, and here's what nobody is telling you about. Collaboration. It compounds exponentially. You support one person. They support you back. Others see this, they wanna get in a culture of collaboration forms and everyone grows faster. Opportunities multiply, and success becomes inevitable. I've watched this happen in real time in our own business owners group. When someone shares a win, five other people offer how to help to expand it. Someone shares a struggle and 10 people offer solutions. Someone needs a connection and it happens within hours, honestly, sometimes minutes. This is what happens when you surround yourself with abundance. It doesn't trickle. It floods, so here is your specific challenge. For this week, I want you to identify three people in your industry that you've seen as competition. I want you to celebrate one of them publicly today, whether it's. Social media, email, text, or just celebrating them out loud in front of your computer. Reach out to one with a collaboration idea if you have one. Even if it's just you wanna grab a virtual coffee, share one piece of valuable knowledge publicly, stop the gatekeeping. Make one strategic introduction. So connect two people who you think should know each other Then. Sit back and watch what happens. Watch how the energy shifts, watch how the opportunities appear, and watch how abundance multiplies. I want you to remember that the person you think is your competition could literally be your biggest collaborator. The success you're envying could be the connection that you need. The information that you're hoarding and gatekeeping is keeping you small. We have to support each other. There is room at the table for all of us. Actually, forget the table. We're building a bigger room. Be somebody's cheerleader this week. Be the hype woman who changes someone's trajectory. Share the resource, make an introduction. Celebrate the win. You get the idea because when you pour into others, it always comes back to you multiplied. A friend told me years ago the statement givers get, and I think this couldn't be more true in this situation. If you're ready to experience this type of abundance, I would love for you to join us at 11 Zs on the first Tuesday of every month on Zoom, it's completely free. There is a link in the show note. So just a reminder that when everything feels urgent, nothing really is, especially not the false urgency of competition when collaboration is an available option. And as always, friends, remember you've got this.

Speaker:

Thanks for spending these few minutes with me today. Remember, overwhelm isn't permanent. It's simply your brain's way of saying pause and take a little reality check. If you got value in today's episode, please share it with another entrepreneur who needs that reminder. If you're loving the show, I'd be so grateful if you could leave me a quick review. It helps other overwhelmed entrepreneurs find us. Make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss your weekly dose of clarity. For more resources and to connect with me, visit exclusively. Send. d.com. Until next time, remember, you've got this.