That advice about not networking with competitors was totally wrong

A guy at a Buckhead coffee shop told me to never talk to other freelancers in my field, but I grabbed coffee with a competitor last month and we ended up trading overflow work. Has anyone else found that competitors are actually the best referral sources?

3 comments

3 Comments

scott.alex17d ago

That advice about not networking with competitors was totally wrong" and I used to believe it too, but now I see it differently.

anna71716d ago

My dentist actually told me the same thing about not talking to other dentists in the area, but I accidentally ended up at a local dental networking happy hour last spring and every single person there was swapping tips on which insurance codes to use. I mean, one guy even passed around his whole spreadsheet of patient no-show fees that he adjusts by neighborhood. It felt way more collaborative than competitive, honestly.

victorhernandez15d ago

Yeah, that whole "it felt way more collaborative than competitive" part really hits on something I've noticed more and more. It's like there's this hidden code of conduct in a lot of industries where everyone pretends to be lone wolves but behind the scenes they're all sharing tips and helping each other out. I see it with mechanics too - they'll badmouth each other to customers but then you catch them at a parts shop trading tricks on how to fix certain engines. Or even in something simple like landscaping, where guys will act like they're rivals but then loan each other equipment when someone's mower breaks down. It's almost like the whole "don't talk to your competitors" rule is just a myth that gets passed around to keep new people scared and isolated, while the people who've been around a while already know the real game is about sharing info to make everyone better. Makes you wonder what else we're told to do that nobody actually follows once they get comfortable.