3 Reasons Why Collaboration Is Better Than Competition

Wood Man[capc ltr=”I”]t’s very common for freelance designers to be islands onto ourselves these days. Heck, that used to be me back in the day…That is, until the constant strain of being on a computer 16 hours a day (literally) began to sap me of my creativity and desire to even poke a mouse. Honestly, my initial consideration of recruiting outside talent was born of pure fatigue and desperation. After months of kicking and screaming, I finally took the first steps and began seeking outside talent.

And to my surprise, it wasn’t so bad. Here’s why.

1. You simply accomplish more.

The first time I decided to enlist another designer to help with a project, they nearly had to pry the (digital) files from my grubby little fingers. The very thought of relying on another person to meet a deadline and please a client initially kept me up in a cold sweat that first night. How could they possibly do as good or better a job than myself? How could I rely on someone else? We designers tend to be very hard-headed like that. However, I was soon to discover just how helpful, and even — gasp –beneficial the relationship had the potential to be, when a Team Member returned some initial concepts back to me days earlier than I would have been able to even get to it alone. This resulted in me forwarding it to the client days ahead of schedule — don’t you love it when that happens?

2. Quite often, you end up with a product that is much more creative than if you had done it yourself.

They not only bring their talents and skills to the table; they also bring their creativity and ideas. The client mentioned above was impressed with the early delivery. Heck, so was I. And when the same client came back with revisions, that got the wheels in my head going, and the aforementioned designer and I ended up putting our noggins together for a brainstorming session that produced a beautiful logo. Creativity begets more creativity. A simple truth.

3. You relieve stress.

Today, I had the pleasure of speaking to a new potential team member who wants to step in and possibly lend her talents to a children’s book we’re currently working on. On every account, she seemed talented, reliable, and a pleasure to talk to by phone. A test project remains yet to be assigned and completed, but knowing that an additional quality Creative is ready to step in and help will certainly help me sleep better tonight. That’s less stress for me. Back in the day, I would have taken on the book entirely be myself, become overloaded with the other projects being juggled, and turned out a lower quality product than I would have wanted. But now? Now I’m learning the process of creative cooperation.

Let’s face it. If you’re any kind of freelancer, you know how tough it can be working tough hours all day, every day. It can sap you of your strength. Assembling a team of diverse talent in not for everyone, but it’s definitely something to consider. It’s important to note here that recruiting and finding a quality designer is not without its bumps and bruises. I’ve had to learn the hard way that investing the time to find the right designer is extremely important. That will be another article, folks. But when done correctly, you can become lethal, because you’re not working alone.

By the way, check out our Team page to meet the CS Team Members. We’re still in the process of getting their smiling faces up there, so check back once and a while and meet us!

Cheers!
Chamira