In my business life, I have been privileged to experience the power of synergy and the impact of two business entities working together for a common good. This synergy is neither partnership nor coalition, but simply a mutual understanding between two business people who share the same values, interests and the same goals in business, and pull their efforts and talents together to achieve results.
It started in 2011. Brenda came to my office one faithful afternoon as a client through one of our marketers. She came for tourist visa enquiries and eventually visa applications to the UK for herself, her mother, and her brother. It was an easy and successful process because she had the right documentation, a positive attitude, a good understanding and a cheerful poise. Shortly after that application, she got married and had a baby girl, and in her next application for visa renewal, she included her daughter. Like other clients, her interest then was just for her and her family’s visa applications.
As time went by, through mutual insights and strategic business conversations, Brenda and I advanced into superior business dealings. She had a company where she did managerial consultations for people in government, especially at the local government level. One day, she came up with a business proposal for a group visa application of 25 local government chairmen to visit the United States. She already held meetings with them, secured the contract, and needed our expertise in processing their visas. That became our first business dealing, and it sailed so smoothly and successfully.
Bonded over our passions and commitments, the potential for more successful business ventures between our companies multiplied. We leveraged each other’s strengths and expertise to do more business. She is a Yoruba lady and has the right contacts and influence with government officials in Lagos. I am Igbo and have more experience and knowledge in the visa business. Together, we dominated the world of travel and tours and provided clients with a seamless visa application process. With time, we became more integrated by complementing the combined strength of our contact, experience, and expertise.
Like every other business collaboration, it was not always smooth sailing for us. We faced challenges from time to time, but with mutual understanding and effective communication, we continued to conquer and were able to rise above the challenges. Our greatest strength was communication and understanding. Understanding each other’s needs and interests through effective communication spurred our interests, increased our brand loyalty, and led to incredible achievements in our businesses.
Therefore, driven by mutual ambition and goal, both companies collaborated and fostered a sense of business security and progress among them. The connection between Brenda and I culminated in us navigating our cultural differences and adapting to our cultural norms and preferences. Our entrepreneurial path propelled our visions and strengthened our perseverance through the rocky paths. Together, we have made several group visa applications and aided many government officials in making the dreams of travelling abroad for tourism, business and training purposes, a reality.
Generally, there is unquantifiable progress in individuals coming together and pursuing a common goal. There is more progress in keeping together and another progress in working together. But the greatest progress lies in staying together while working together. My experience with Brenda brought us more contacts and great innovations. It boosted my morale, and my resource efficiency and increased our clientele base and productivity.
In business, marketing is good, sales/services are good, and staffing and teamwork are good. But oftentimes, exploring internal and external opportunities to collaborate is worthwhile. It helps to generate new ideas, create new concepts, solve common problems and achieve business objectives.
The fact remains that with or without defined collaboration, no business operates in a vacuum. There are many direct or indirect influences of other businesses in every business. It affects how employees work together internally and how they affect people and businesses externally. It provides learning opportunities for both employees and employers and also improves their engagement and well-being.
Creating a collaborative environment and mindset starts at home with parents and siblings doing things together with a common understanding. Then it extends to the school with classmates and schoolmates doing school work and assignments together. Next is with colleagues and team members in a business exchanging ideas and deliberations, and the list continues.
Hence, effective communication is a viable tool of collaboration and should be practised internally first. From teaming up a group reading in school to running events together, to online marketing, to pulling initiatives for project developments, and so on. All these fosters a collaborative mindset at an early stage which may be needed for greater business collaboration in future. Making collaboration an integral part of living from an early stage is the best decision any child can take. Shall we be intentional about this?
โ๏ธAmara Ann Unachukwu
