Collaboration, not competition

This month, Diana-Medrea Mogensen discusses how to succeed in business through collaboration with other entrepreneurs.

Photographs: Unsplash

Text: Diana-Medrea Mogensen

Commerce began as collaboration. Long before global markets and online advertising, trade was built on exchange, one person’s surplus meeting another’s need. Bakers worked with millers, tailors with weavers, and the success of each depended on the reliability of the other. Competition existed, yet it remained secondary to trust. The marketplace functioned as a network, not a battlefield.

Over time, this story changed. Modern entrepreneurship began to glorify independence, speed, and scarcity: who gets there first, who sells more, who wins the client. The drama absorbed through television and social media transformed business into a kind of performance. In practice, most entrepreneurs, particularly small business owners, depend on connection to stay afloat. Shared suppliers, referrals, peer learning, and community belonging remain the true foundations of survival. This is why business networks, local groups, and cooperatives exist.

If competition is viewed not as a threat but as a resource, it becomes a tool for refinement and mutual growth. It can help us sharpen our offers, learn from others, and progress together rather than running side by side in isolation.

From rivalry to ecosystem thinking

For anyone working independently, it is easy to see everyone in the same field as a rival. Denmark is a small market, and many entrepreneurs offer similar services to limited audiences. No one is truly winning, since the market is small, attention is divided, and resources are finite.

Imagine several jewellery makers sharing a studio and organising joint pop-ups, or a group of coaches creating a shared platform that showcases different approaches and price levels. Freelancers could pool their visibility by running combined campaigns or hosting workshops together. Collaboration does not erase individuality; it enhances it.

Every business operates within an ecosystem of overlapping skills, products, and audiences that can strengthen one another. Rather than struggling for the same small share of attention, collaboration allows the entire table to grow. A helpful shift in mindset is to replace the question “What are they doing that I am not?” with “What can we do together to cut costs, reach more people, or create something unique?”

A framework for collaborative growth

Alignment with every entrepreneur is not possible, yet most can form partnerships that are practical and beneficial, even if temporary. One way to begin is by mapping your ecosystem in three circles.

Complementary partners are those whose work aligns with yours without overlapping. A coach might collaborate with a photographer, an event planner with a caterer, or a designer with a copywriter. Together they create fuller and stronger offers.

Parallel peers are individuals who work in similar areas but not in identical ways. Two coaches might focus on different topics, or two jewellers may serve distinct styles or audiences. Sharing knowledge about pricing, suppliers, or customers helps everyone evolve.

Community connectors are networks, associations, and local hubs that can link you to potential partners and new audiences. These include erhvervscentre, co-working spaces, and industry associations.

Once you have identified these groups, begin with a small step. Suggest a joint event, exchange referrals, or design a seasonal collaboration. Collaboration does not need to become a long-term commitment; it can simply be a practical, mutually beneficial relationship.

What collaboration looks like in practice

In Denmark, opportunities for collaboration appear as soon as you start to notice them. Some turn into ongoing partnerships, while others are one-time experiments. Every time you recommend a peer, co-host an event, or tag another business online, you extend visibility for both parties.

The entrepreneurs who stand out are rarely the most competitive; they are the most connected. They surround themselves with people who challenge their thinking, exchange ideas openly, and remind them that entrepreneurship was never intended to be a solitary pursuit.

Competition will always exist, since it encourages alertness and creativity, yet it does not have to create division. When we stop seeing one another as obstacles and begin recognising the web of opportunities between us, business returns to what it was meant to be: a shared endeavour.

Take an hour this week to map your ecosystem. Identify who complements you, who inspires you, and who you could reach out to today not to pitch, but to connect. Collaboration is not the opposite of ambition. It is one of the most effective and sustainable ways to grow, especially in small markets where nobody succeeds alone.