Teamwork Makes the Freelance Dream Work

When we meet other medical writers and public health professionals, we’re often asked the question “what drove you to form a business partnership?” While partnerships are common in other professions, we rarely encounter them in medical writing or in the public health consulting field. It’s a fair question to ask, so today we’re sharing why we believe collaboration is essential to the work we do as an organization, and also why we’d like to see more of it. 

There are several advantages to taking a team approach to freelancing: 

1. Sharing the load. Every freelancer knows that there’s a lot more work that goes into building a professional brand beyond the products you deliver to your clients. There’s all the behind-the-scenes labor of maintaining a business, doing marketing, networking with other professionals, and engaging in volunteer work for professional organizations. When it comes to all of this “extra” work, two is definitely better than one. Tasks can also be delegated according to each partner’s strengths and availability.

2. Two sets of eyes. We have an agreement that as business partners, we share our successes and failures, even if we sometimes work on projects independently. We keep each other aware of what work is being done for which clients, and we’re each available to step in to offer a second opinion, give a document a final edit, or help the other brainstorm. We also each bring different expertise and complementary skill sets to the business, which means we can achieve more together than either of us could alone.

3. Collaborative learning. Another principle we follow in our partnership is that any new skills we pick up as individuals we share with each other. This has helped us adapt to new tasks and projects faster and more efficiently. Teaching also helps with learning, so it’s a self-reinforcing process. It also helps us stay accountable for our own professional growth and development. 

4. Reducing risk and expanding opportunities. We all unfortunately encounter situations beyond our control that may make it impossible to meet a deadline, produce high-quality work, attend an out of town networking event, etc. The benefit of working with a partner is that there is always someone to pick up the slack when necessary. Likewise, sometimes an opportunity may arise for one of us to pursue individually, but it may temporarily require full attention. When a situation like that arises, the partner can step in to take responsibility for prior commitments so that contracts are fulfilled on time. 

5. Less isolation. Working in the medical writing or public health consulting field can feel lonely at times. Most of us work from home and we may not see our colleagues aside from when we attend networking events or national conferences. While many of us prefer to work alone, isolation can sometimes become a detriment to both our personal and professional health. Having a partner doesn’t mean you have to work together every day, but sometimes it’s nice to feel like you aren’t in it all alone. 

   
   

That said, there are also some challenges to partnership. A study by Harvard Business School found that 65% of start-ups fail due cofounder conflicts. A start-up is not necessarily the same context as a small business, but the potential for failure due to interpersonal conflict is absolutely a risk. And the conflict does not necessarily have to arise from disagreements about how to run the business; sometimes, two people just can’t get along. 

In that sense, partnering with someone in business is like getting married and carries a similar degree of commitment. Starting a business means tying yourself to someone else financially, and if it doesn’t work out, the process of dissolving a business can be as complicated and messy as divorce. But the good news is that a lot of the tools and strategies for resolving interpersonal conflict in relationships work just as well in resolving differences between business partners. 

One way we’ve tried to prevent interpersonal conflict from affecting our business is by setting ground rules. Our number one ground rule is that we never disagree with each other in front of clients, and we never disparage each other to colleagues. It may sound like a no-brainer, but having an agreement written down helps each of us to feel more secure. 

Even if a business partnership isn’t right for you, there are still lots of ways that you can team up with other professionals to collaborate effectively. We keep a database of all the colleagues we meet at conferences and events, which makes it easy to reach out for advice or with a proposal for collaboration on a project. Sometimes we pass work along to people who specialize in areas beyond our expertise. Approaching collaboration with a generous mindset has served us well and opened unexpected doors. 

And don’t forget that having a team to rely on can be a big advantage with clients. When you hire subcontractors, you can justify charging clients more because you are offering a higher quality product. It also demonstrates to clients that you are well-connected and respected by your peers. 

If you’ve never worked with other medical writers or consultants in a partnership or team setting, we challenge you to try it. When we collaborate rather than compete, everyone benefits and we each get to contribute to building a positive professional culture founded on mutual respect. That’s in short supply these days, and it’s a valuable asset in our community.