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There's nothing wrong with helping competitors. If you are secure in your abilities, it can only be a positive thing. I talk almost daily with some of my competitors. We help each other. Maybe not specifically regarding the coveted details of our respective businesses, but certainly with tools, tips, or raw knowledge. And it is very true that what comes around goes around.
I've gone out of my way, put projects on the back burner, and spent entire days helping someone with a script or a detailed critique, or system problems, or whatever... and we joke... and we generally have a very good relationship going.
Just because you're competing for the same business doesn't mean you gotta be a close-minded ass.
And when I need help, or need a resource, or an opinion... it's usually my competitors that I turn to first. Because I know I can count on them. This also builds a mutual respect. (The people I'm talking about will know who they are immediately upon reading this.)
While I have no problem burning some flakey fuck like TennisAss who flys in with his bullshit practices and tries to undermine everything we (myself & my competitors) have accomplished and the connections & progress we have made with people over time and much effort, I also would NEVER even consider trying to sneak into my RESPECTED competitors client lists with intention of undercutting their prices for the sake of stealing a customer. Because the minute that happens, you may have stolen a client for a job or two, but you've lost a trusted resource, colleague, and friend, most likely, for good. And it only goes downhill from there.
In this biz, word of mouth can be your greatest marketing tool or your instant death. Your competitors are usually the largest influential factor in determining which way it will go for you. Because they know your biz. And they know first hand if you're running the ship clean or trying to fuck everyone in your path.
We've all seen how fast cheaters get spotted around here. Doesn't matter which field... I've seen the TGP guys crucify cheaters in seconds, where I probably would not have noticed it. I've seen the hosting guys nail cheaters right and left, where I may have never discovered it... not my field. And you've all seen us graphics guys come together publicly when some fuck thinks he can reinvent the way things work and make a quick buck by fucking the rest of us over.
Each field of the biz, for the most part, seems to take care of it's own pretty well. They stick together. And that's how it should be. The guys that think they can make a million without anyone's help are the one's who are usually gettin' ass reamed on GFY a week later for cheating, in one form or another.
Moral of the story: No man is an island.
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