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On giving back to the industry

I’ve always admired how people come together to create something new and spectacular. Musicians do this frequently. They’re more interested in making great music than self-promotion, making them more willing to work together.

Great musicians are always looking for new talent to collaborate with – people they can perform, write and ultimately promote the music industry with. Collaboration helps musicians introduce themselves to new audiences, learn, grow and network. It helps build both the industry and the individuals involved.

So, why aren’t we doing this in the digital industry? Over the years, I’ve found that our industry shares a lot of information online, but this isn’t true collaboration. Sharing knowledge has become more of a self-promotional tool rather than a collaborative effort that could drive our industry to new heights.

I firmly believe industries can benefit from industry leaders and players putting their pride aside and starting initiatives to accelerate understanding, expertise and promote growth within their industry.

There are so many benefits of true collaboration within an industry. Here are some I’ve seen come to life during my entrepreneurial journey:

What The Industry Gains When You Give Back:

  • When people collaborate and openly share knowledge, it not only pushes industry understanding, expertise and experience, it inspires and stimulates people, injecting a renewed energy and excitement back into the industry.
  • Collaboration can also be used as a promotional tool to attract new clients, create revenue and develop new products and services. It pushes people within the industry to create and develop bigger and better offerings.

As a business, giving back to the industry builds trust, which is an important business commodity. Collaboration builds relationships with industry stakeholders, such as potential partners, clients and talent.

What Your Business Gains When You Give Back:

  • When you spend time giving back and using your resources to build your industry, you’re ultimately giving your dreams and goals stronger legs, carrying them further, faster.
  • Collaboration makes finding like-minded, passionate people much easier. It inspires and convinces people within your industry to realise your vision and help you see it through.
  • Giving back attracts new talent and expertise. People want to work for a business they can learn from and grow with.

I genuinely believe in the idea of helping people win, which is one of the reasons Digital Swarm was started. We started an event, a platform, where people, like us could give back and share insights and knowledge with our industry. Self-promotion wasn’t the end game of giving back, but it was a fantastic outcome.

So, the next time you want to get your name out there, try something different. Try feeding your industry by giving back, collaborating and sharing insight. Help it grow.


This article is drawn from a chapter in my book “The Five Year Mark

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