• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Forum
  • Design Studio
  • Upholstery Jobs
  • Newsletter
  • Sponsors

The Hog Ring

Auto Upholstery Community

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Why You Should Work With Competitors

April 5, 2011 By Nadeem Muaddi Leave a Comment

Check out Rick Spence’s latest article in Financial Post, “Don’t Let Competition Get in the Way.” It’s not explicitly about the auto trim industry, but offers a compelling argument on why you should collaborate (rather than do battle) with competitors.

Spence writes:

I believe business is about leveraging every advantage you have. And your competitors, with their market knowledge, customer contacts, and ability to make you look good by supplying some product, information or resources that you may lack, may offer more opportunities for leverage than anyone else you know. […]

Big companies do it all the time. Arch-competitors work together in industry associations, and they often share the same lawyers for lobbying lawmakers and regulators. Hotels regularly send overflow guests to “friendly” inns with whom they fight tooth and nail in shoulder season. I’ve known rival companies that happily share production equipment with competitors or refer work to them when their own order books are full.

We’ve all heard of competitors that formed cartels to fix prices or control other production conditions. I’m not recommending collusion, but collaboration. When two or more companies share marketing costs or production resources, they cut their costs and expand customers’ abilities to access their products, making markets more efficient for all parties. [read more]

Spence also illustrates how competing businesses that go to war wind up limiting opportunities for themselves. He asserts that business is not a “zero-sum game,” and that sometimes collaboration can be financially rewarding for all parties involved. He isn’t arguing that businesses shouldn’t compete – but that they should just do so wisely.

Sound Off? Have you collaborated with a competing business before? And if so, how did it work out for you and the other business involved? Are there certain aspects of business where you wouldn’t mind collaborating and others where you’d say ‘no way’?

— — —

The Hog Ring is the #1 online community for auto upholstery professionals and enthusiasts. Here you can browse pictures, read news and connect with others who share your passion for auto upholstery. You can even check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

Filed Under: Archive, Better Business Tagged With: Auto Trim, Auto Upholstery, Business Tips, Car Interior

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

THR Sponsors

NC Sewing Machines
Miami Corporation RIght Rail - Ad 2
Top Down Group
Apex Leather
  • MasterTech Expo Ad 2
  • Douglass Interior Products
  • GAHH Automotive
  • Keyston Bros
  • Premium Auto Fabrics
  • Moore & Giles Ad 1
  • Albright's Supply
  • Hyde Leather

THR Favorites

Auto Upholstery - The Hog Ring - Estimates 101

Estimating 101: What You Need to Know

Giving fair price estimates is one of the … [more] about Estimating 101: What You Need to Know

The Hog Ring - Meet the Trimmers Behind Auto Kustoms

Meet the Trimmers Behind Auto Kustoms

Although our "Meet the Trimmer" series … [more] about Meet the Trimmers Behind Auto Kustoms

4 Measuring Tools Every Trim Shop Needs

Measure twice and cut once – it’s good … [more] about 4 Measuring Tools Every Trim Shop Needs

The Hog Ring - Customs by Vos Builds a Masterpiece

Customs by Vos Builds a Masterpiece

What does it take to create an award-winning … [more] about Customs by Vos Builds a Masterpiece

How Did You Learn Auto Upholstery?

Stories about how individual auto trimmers … [more] about How Did You Learn Auto Upholstery?

The Hog Ring - Meet Aspiring Auto Trimmer Lauren Ralphie Marusic

Meet Aspiring Auto Trimmer Lauren ‘Ralphie’ Marusic

We interview a lot of master craftsmen, but … [more] about Meet Aspiring Auto Trimmer Lauren ‘Ralphie’ Marusic

Categories

Footer

Recent Articles

  • Classic Upholstery Won Big at the Rick Ross Car Show
  • Moore & Giles Sponsors The Hog Ring!
  • Trimmer Vincent Robert Mikla Dies at 70
  • Nominate a Trimmer to SEMA’s Hall of Fame
  • Listen to Velocity Restorations on NC Shop Talk!

Recent Comments

  • Joe payton on Moore & Giles Sponsors The Hog Ring!
  • Tempat Cetak Official on 6 Ways to Transform Plastic into Chrome
  • Tif on The BMW i3 Urban Suite Has a Lounge Seat
  • Christie Howell on Transition from Furniture to Auto Upholstery
  • Emma on Want to Learn Upholstery? Enroll at McPherson College

Advertise With Us!

We're always looking for companies to collaborate with. Watch this short video about the benefits of sponsorship and then email us to say hi.
anal porno bangbros rus porno yaşlı porno konulu porno olgun porno porno izle sarışın porno bakire sex 69 porno

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in