Kat Schmoyer and Megan Martin, hosts of Talking Small Business Podcast

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Best Friends with the Competition: Our Story

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Show Notes:

We’ve been business besties for over 5 years now! After talking on Instagram and then meeting face-to-face at a conference for creatives, we quickly realized that there was something special about the friendship we were forming. Now, we talk (almost) every day about business, motherhood, and so much more. On our first episode of the Talking Small Business Podcast, we’re diving into what it means to be best friends with the competition and how that’s impacted our relationship.

It can be scary to be friends with someone who’s going to possibly offer the same type things that you do!! From a strategy standpoint – we have similar offerings & therefore we understand each other business & customers… but from a friendship standpoint it can be scary to think that your biz bestie is also your direct competition!! But over the years, we’ve learned that having a friend in the industry isn’t the worst thing in the world! 😉 And for us, we come at things from veryyy different viewpoints which means nothing we offer will ever really be the same. While our offerings might me similar, we are TOTALLY different people (with very different brands!). And that’s why our relationship works. Although our offerings might overlap some, the way we teach and work with our audiences is unique. When you’re friends with the competition, that’s the lesson you have to remember. No one can do what YOU do. You bring something special to the table. And not only that, there truly is a customer out there for everyone. Honestly remembering to work from an abundant mindset and focusing on what sets you apart are the most important things when you’re friends with someone who’s the competition.

But… keeping it real here… it hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows as biz besties. We’ve run into situations where we both were thinking of offering something similar to our audiences and had some hard feelings about it. And we learned how to work through it, together! We had hard conversations about WHY we wanted to offer what we did, what we brought to the table, and how we could do super similar things without stepping on each others toes. And most importantly: we remembered that we were friends! No matter what, we want each other to succeed and have the life that we each want. So we took a step back, remembered neither of us was trying to hurt the other and worked through what we were going to offer and how. And now, we have two thriving businesses that are similar but different in so many ways.

At the end of the day, our friendship has always been the base of our relationship. We connected personally as FRIENDS. Then, as we realized we understood each other and the lives we were leading – babies, pregnancies, husbands and home-meets-work-life – we knew that we could help each other out. We’ve worked through the awkward moments that come with asking a friend to help with a coaching program (yes, contracts are involved!) and we’ve learned that sometimes it’s just about wearing your biz hat… while other times your friend hat is most important. Being friends first (and most importantly) has been the best thing we could have done for ourselves and each other.

Now, we want to encourage you to go find someone out there who understands you and your business that you truly connect with!! We talk about networking all the time in business, so let’s put it to good use! Find someone who can understand what you’re going through, help you through those tough moments, challenge you in your business and support you through it all. There’s truly nothing like having someone in your life who understands exactly what you’re going through because they’re going through it too! We promise it will change your life and business for the better. We’re living proof that it’s 100% possible to be friends with the competition and that you’re going to grow so much from it!

Full Transcript:

Read the full episode transcript HERE.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

The Digital Lab

Creative @ Heart

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Thanks for tuning into this episode of Talking Small Business! You’re always invited to our table and we can’t wait to catch you in the next conversation!

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I'm Megan

I'm Megan Martin, a Mama of 4 and a conversion-focused website designer by trade who helps passionate creatives own what makes them unique and turn what they know, love, do, and already have within them into what they can sell through digital products earning passive income!

     meganmartin.net

I'm Kat

I'm Kat Schmoyer, biz coach, educator and host of Creative at Heart Conference! I've been called "The Calendar Girl" because of my poster size Calendar and my passion for helping visionaries like YOU find a quarterly system that makes big dreams and daily’s happen!

     katschmoyer.com

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