Omnichannel - The Truth About Collaborations | Episode 1 | Parmees Yazdanyar

Episode Date: July 18, 2025

Send us a textIn this conversation, Parmees Yazdanyar and I deep dive into a topic that many entrepreneurs and creatives struggle with: collaborations.Whether you’re seeking joint ventures, co-hosting offers, or podcast partnerships, this episode explores:Why some collaborations feel like "puppy love" and how to move beyond surface-level synergyThe red flags to look for before joining forces with someoneHow to protect your brand integrity and stay grounded in your identityWhat makes a successful collaboration in the long runThe role of intuition and discernment in navigating business relationshipsGet a FREE Copy of the High Converting Online Events Book: https://book.dominikalegrand.com/

But if we haven't actually taken the time to ground ourselves in like, what is it that I want to be known for? What is it that my brand represents? What is it that I want people to associate with me? Then it becomes very easy to lose ourselves in a collaboration and take on some of the aspects or beliefs or ways of doing things of the other person. And I all of a sudden became like, Ooh, I did not see these things before. And it's kind of like the honeymoon phase of a relationship phase,

and you start to see the person for some of their flaws and some of maybe their childhood wounding. And you start to see the aspects of them that are no longer perfect. And that's when you have to start asking yourself, is this someone that I want to stay in bed with? Is this someone that I wanna continue on with? And I think what becomes really important here

when it comes to collaborations is sometimes you need the bad experiences to get to the good experiences just like in relationships and it really comes back down to understanding that your brand is an entity. Your brand and even if you're a personal brand meaning a lot of people say well I am the brand like it's me, it's still an entity that you have decided to give a name to, to give personality features to, and what it represents can be either amplified or destroyed by who you choose to associate your name with and who you choose to bring into that kind of sphere of what your brand stands for.

So these are just some initial thoughts. I don't know if you have any, you know, questions or things that you want to jump in with. What came to mind for me as you were talking about it is many times I have guests on my show, this person looks great, I love them. And then when they come and I'm interviewing them, somehow it's just not either like their values are not that aligned or after the interview, I find out something about them that's just

like I had no idea they're selling snake oil. Welcome back to the podcast. It's nice to see you. Thank you. I feel like every time we speak, you are in an exotic location. But for whoever has been invested in your journey of immigration, can you just give us an update?

Yes, I just made it to Puerto Rico. I've been here for almost two and a half weeks now. And it kind of feels surreal because it feels like I've been in this journey, this process of getting to this destination for the past three and a half years. And interestingly enough, that itself, like the lessons that came from that could probably be an entire podcast episode in its series. Yeah, not just the personal experiences, but now that I've actually made it to the other side, looking back and recognizing how critical some of the delays were. And I was sharing this with my group yesterday.

I was talking about how in entrepreneurship, oftentimes we set our minds and we set our souls on this goal. And we think that once we attain that goal, like everything is going to feel okay. And we sacrifice for that goal. We try hard. We envision it. We plan for it. We, try hard. We envision it. We plan for it. We set the intentions.

And it almost feels like all of our energy is invested towards getting to that goal. And for different people, it can look like different things. It could be having a business of a certain level. It could be making a certain income. And every ounce of our being is invested towards attaining it. And I've experienced this in multiple ways in the past.

Like with my book launch back when I was like 23 years old, with hitting a certain level of business, is that I've always experienced that the anticipation of that goal is always more rewarding than getting to the goal itself. And just in these past two and a half weeks, I've recognized like how much of my energy has been invested for the past three and a half years

to getting here. And now that I'm here, I'm not complaining. It's great. It feels like a massive relief that I've accomplished this thing, but it feels almost like, okay, like this is it. I made it. Now what? So anyway, like I said, I won't take that on a tangent there because I think that could be a whole episode of itself. But it's been an interesting adjustment coming into a new country, getting settled, not speaking the language. And of course, a huge part of my message and my journey has kind of been navigating entrepreneurship and managing a business while being in a consistent

state of change and transition and chaos. And I almost feel like it's kind of morphed my personality into being someone who is now guiding others on how to make peace with limbo and how to be okay with still showing up as your best and how to manage your capacity as you're navigating through life's changes. So anyways, all that to say, I finally made it here. And yeah, every time we speak, I feel like there's a different exotic location that I'm speaking from, but hopefully this time I'm not going to be shifting locations for too long.

We'll see. You know, it's funny to me when you say that because I mean, we had this talk in private how you have been much more productive by yourself, by yourself than now that you actually have to have a relationship that's like right there with you, right? It's such an adjustment to be able to get back to your routine. Totally. Yeah. And it's funny you say that because it's so counterintuitive. Like these three years, I've always thought like once I get there, once I get stable, once I have a home base, like my productivity is going to skyrocket and I'm going to feel so good. And I'm going to finally feel grounded. And it's almost like I was thriving more in the chaos of the perpetual change somehow. And I almost knew part of me,

like that this was kind of going to happen that once I finally settle and get somewhere that I feel safe, my nervous system is all of a sudden going to kind of be thrown off kilter. I kind of knew it that once I finally settle and get somewhere that I feel safe my nervous system is all Of a sudden gonna kind of be thrown off kilter I kind of knew it was gonna happen But yeah It's been interesting getting back into a routine and just like setting myself up and like knowing what to do with myself While while now finally being stable and not having to worry about like what's the next destination and whatnot?

So here we are now and hopefully after a little bit of time, I'll adjust to this new environment as well. Yeah, hopefully. All right. So today there are many directions we're going to go. But the first one I wanted to kind of get your opinion on is around collaborations. And the reason why I wanted to ask you about this, because I keep seeing you either guest speaking or you inviting guest speakers or hosting events with other entrepreneurs. So I'll let you take whichever approach you want it, but let's just get that out of your brain so whoever is listening can learn what's your secret to successful collaborations. Yeah, this is a really good topic because like myself, I think a lot of entrepreneurs actually approach collaborations in a very naive way.

And this isn't a bad thing. This is just me looking back on my journey as to how I was collaborating maybe three to five years ago versus now is very different. And what I look for in collaborations is very different and how I approach collaborations is very different. So what I mean by naivety is that in the past and what I see in a lot of people who are just getting started with collaborating with other people in their field is that they look to someone and they might resonate with their message, they might feel like they share similar viewpoints, they might feel like they have,

you know, complimentary services and they're like, oh my gosh, like, you know, it's kind of like a girlfriend moment, like, oh, we like the same thing, let's collaborate. And that's kind of how I was approaching collaborations, like maybe five years ago is that I would look to someone and I would really admire their work. And I'm like, we need to do something together. And I'd always heard that as. I'm like, I'm right there right now. So I just feel so called out.

That's okay. Yeah. It's just being called forward a little bit. Maybe this, this conversation is happening at a good time. And like I said, there's nothing wrong with that because that's like that initial spark of like excitement. And I often refer to business collaborations as looking at it like as if you're entering a romantic relationship as well. Like if you meet a guy or a girl and you like the chemistry is there, the butterflies

are there, you're super attracted to them. And you're like, Oh my god, like I met my future husband. That's not a very logical thing to do, right? You don't just jump into a relationship with the first person that gives you better. Exactly. That's how most women do anyway. Right. Exactly. And I think we've all kind of been there in that puppy love stage where you meet someone that kind of like meets some criteria and you're like, this is it. I used to approach collaborations the same way, meaning I would get connected to someone online or meet someone at a networking event. And just because we got along on a couple of things, it was like, let's, let's jump into

bed together, proverbially. And what I learned very quickly is there's two kinds of things that happen when, when you do that a little bit prematurely. One is pregnancy. Yes. Yes. One is that you oftentimes don't actually take the time to get to know yourself and get to know what is your value, what are your unique perspectives, what are like signature way of doing things. And so sometimes I find that we jump into these collaborations because we feel that rush of excitement and we see potential and opportunity. Just like how in a relationship we like romanticize or fantasize about love and we're like, oh my gosh, this is going to be like a happily ever after. But if we haven't actually taken the time to ground ourselves in like, what is it that

I want to be known for? What is it that my brand represents? What is it that I want people to associate with me? Then it becomes very easy to lose ourselves in a collaboration and take on some of the aspects or beliefs or ways of doing things of the other person. And so you might feel like you're losing aspects of yourself when you're in a partnership with someone when you haven't actually taken the time to uncover what I call your brand identity and really kind of understanding like who you are at that core and anchoring yourself in that foundation. So that's kind of the first thing that can happen. The second thing

that can happen is let's say you have taken the time to really uncover your brand identity and really understand who you are. If you prematurely bring someone on just based on some surface level things that you feel you get along with without actually taking the time to develop your discernment and to develop like a really critical eye of like, who is this person? Do I want them associated with my brand? Do I feel like we vibe not just on some surface level perspectives, but really deep values in terms of how we're

running our business. It can end up being a little bit messy. And I've been in this situation before where I've gotten into a collaboration with someone that looked fantastic on the surface. But then as time went on and as I observed their business practices or how they handle client objections or how they show up in spaces where someone maybe challenges them, I all of a sudden became like, ooh, I did not see these things before. And it's kind of like the honeymoon phase of a relationship fades and you start to see the person for some of their flaws and some of maybe their childhood wounding. And like, you start to see the aspects of them that are no longer like perfect. And like you start to see the aspects of them that are no longer like perfect. And that's when you have to start asking yourself like, is this someone that I want to stay in bed with?

Like, is this someone that I want to continue on with? And I think what becomes really important here when it comes to collaborations is sometimes you need the bad experiences to get to the good experiences, just like in relationships. And it really comes back down to understanding that your brand is an entity, your brand. And even if you're a personal brand, meaning a lot of people say, well, I am the brand, like it's me, it's still an entity that you have decided to give a name to, to give personality features to. And what it represents can be either amplified or destroyed by who you choose

to associate your name with and who you choose to bring into that kind of sphere of what your brand stands for. So these are just some initial thoughts. I don't know if you have any, you know, questions or things that you want to jump in. What came to mind for me as you were talking about it is many times I have guests on my show. This person looks great. I love them. And then when they come and I'm interviewing them, somehow it's just not either like their values are not that aligned or after the interview, I find out something about them that's just like I had no idea they're selling snake oil. So it's just that disappointment that comes to like, oh shit, I thought he's a good person.

Like am I a bad judge of character here? Like what's going on? So that's what comes to me. But maybe I'm too naive. I jump into that too fast. No, and I think it's a process of refinement because even if you have a good judgment of character, I think it happens to all of us. I don't have a due diligence process when it comes to collaborating with people. I think that my discernment and almost like my intuition has become stronger. I don't know if I and almost like my intuition has become stronger.

I don't know if I would even call it intuition, but I might be able to pick up on subtle red flags and cues earlier now than I did before. But that only came with experience and that only came with the multitude of collaborations that I've had at various different capacities. I mean, I've had collaborations where we've basically been in business together and then other collaborations where it's like a short-term gig. And in both scenarios, I think I've become more aware of what to look out for. But even with that, like even in recent collaborations, there have been very subtle things that come to the surface where I'm like, I don't know if I agree with that or I don't know if I like that.

And again, going back to the whole relationship analogy, those things are going to surface in a romantic relationship as well. You're never going to find someone who is a carbon copy of you. You just have to ask yourself the things that are coming up. Are those like non-negotiables that you absolutely do not want to be associated with or are they just simple differences in perspectives or difference in approaches and are you okay with that degree or that level of difference? So it's not about harping on yourself and being like, I'm just a poor judge of character. I think it happens to all of us where someone

presents themselves in a very different way. And then when you actually start working with them and you start to watch how they operate behind the scenes, not just what they show to the outside world, but just how they operate, it becomes clear like these are some things I might not necessarily jive with. What are some of the red flags? Because you mentioned that you're able to pick up on the red flags now. What are the things that come to you, like happened to you, that came to you? So a couple of them that I can maybe start even recently and then work backwards. I feel

when someone presents, so congruence is really important for me. And I think all of us to some degree sometimes might contradict ourselves or fall out of congruence and I don't think it means that we're bad people. I just think that means we're human. But there's some things when it comes to branding and self-presentation. When I see someone speak a certain way and declare certain values that they have or certain things that are really important to how their brand operates, but then when things get really difficult or when they're faced with a challenge, they kind of revert to the their brand operates. But then when things get really difficult or when they're faced with a challenge, they kind of revert to the opposite of that.

Or when I see them presenting their brand in a way, let's say in the online space and they're taking a stand for something, but then when we're having private conversations, I see them leading their business or their personal life in an opposite way. That's a little bit of a subtle red flag that I think in the past I might've looked past. I would've been like, oh, whatever. Like everyone has off times, everyone has whatever. I would've justified it. Whereas now I can kind of pick it up and be like, hmm, interesting. This person has a particular curated persona for the outside world, but when it comes to actually applying some of

that advice themselves, they haven't fully applied it yet. So that's maybe one. That might also require you to engage with the person a little bit more to actually see that because it's not something that you see off of like face value, like when you first interact with them. Another red flag that I've noticed is when someone starts to become super transactional in the beginning discussions of how this collaboration is going to go. So I don't know if I can like word exactly how they would be asking these questions, but in essence, when you see them kind of thinking or bringing to the surface like well, what's in it for me?

Like how am I gonna benefit from this rather than seeing a collaboration as a win-win type of situation or having that collaborative mindset? Where it's like well, here's what I'm bringing to you Here's what you bring to me and they're kind of detached from the status or money or whatever that this collaboration is going to bring. Like they genuinely want to collaborate because they enjoy you as a person and they want to be of service to the world. But when someone starts to bring up, you know, and I'm not saying don't talk about money or don't talk about some of like the more tangible components.

I think that's important. But when the topics of discussion become a lot more geared and focused towards like the extrinsic benefits of what this collaboration is going to bring, I think that's another red flag that I've picked up on where, you know, when you guys are talking about like what the event is going to be or what the topic of the masterclass is going to be or what the group cohort is going to be, it's less about like delivering an outstanding experience and it's more about like, well, how do we upsell here? How do I put in my offer versus your offer?

Like it becomes a bit more transactional. So those are probably two of the most recent red flags that have come up for different kind of types of interactions I've had with people where I've now kind of queued in and so like, hmm, this might be a little bit of a problem like going forward. There's a couple of others that I picked up that I think in my more naive days were less of a red flag to me and more just like, that's okay, we'll figure it out as we go. We're like, we'll cross that bridge when we get

there. Great. Like this person is so into me. You feel so validated. You feel so chosen. You feel so like into the dynamic. But I've noticed that people who don't take the time to actually get to know you and actually get to understand the way your values work are living a little bit in Laala land and then again someone issues arise because those things were never addressed in the beginning of the collaboration it can get really messy in terms of how to handle conflict how to handle difference of opinion so i feel like there's there's got to be deeper conversations that happen before the collaboration actually morphs into a legitimate collaboration, rather than allowing the excitement of opportunity to kind of cloud your judgment. And you're looking

at that person through rose-colored glasses rather than looking at it for what it is. So if you'd had to give us like a quick one, two, three, what do you think makes a successful collaboration with your experience at this point? Now we talked about the red flags. So how would you like to be approached? How would you decide? You said already that you want to see if this elevates your brand or destroys it. Like that you said that already. Like what are some of your checklist or mental checklist that you decide whether or not you say yes to a collaboration or even initiate? Yeah, so it's interesting because I think I wouldn't say I necessarily have like an

actual tangible checklist that the person would need to like check off in order for me to say yes. First and foremost, I'm learning to do a gut check because one of the other subtle red flags that actually kind of turns into like one of the things that make it successful is upon first meeting this person or this person coming into your world. Does the invitation or does the potential for collaboration feel a little bit leechy? And what I mean by leechy is that sometimes collaborations happen because people will see your brand or your positioning or your reach at a certain level and instead of doing the work themselves to get themselves there, they will try to attach to your brand and to your reputation to elevate themselves.

Now, with that being said, I also do agree. And I do believe that a lot of success actually does come from successful collaborations where you can cross pollinate your audiences. And it's a mutual growth for both of you, but doing a gut check and really kind of trying to see if, if this person's brand or this person's level of involvement in their business and level of output and you know, involvement in creating that elevation in their positioning is matching yours or

is this person looking for kind of like a quick way to Climb on your back. Right, exactly. Yeah. And so what would make some of the things successful is both of you having put in the work and having a well-developed brand identity and positioning that's already established. So there isn't like this imbalance in energy in terms of someone doing way better than the other person or someone being at a like a crazy level.

And I know some people will disagree with this because I know people who've been in collaborations with people who are technically at a much higher level in business and it hasn't felt leechy. It hasn't felt, you know, wrong. So that's why I say you got to do a gut check because sometimes it's not the case. Sometimes you might not have the reach or the following or the numbers of someone, but it's, it's a really good match. So doing that gut check, I think is really important. The second thing is having aligned goals with what this collaboration is meant to do. Again, going back to the excitement piece, I think a lot of people will meet someone that they really vibe with and then they'll jump into a collaboration with them with actually setting the intention as to what is this collaboration meant to do?

Like what are we trying to do with this collaboration that we can't do on our own, that by coming together it makes this experience so much stronger? And I think with that what becomes really important is for each person to have their own unique set of skills or complimentary skills that can come together and elevate the experience, not for them, but for the client or for the person that's involved. So it's like taking yourself out of that and making it about like this collaboration is about elevating me. And it's more about let's make an experience that we could not do on our own. And so we come together and make it stronger. Again,

very much like a couple, like you don't want one person to be carrying the weight of the relationship. You want both of you to have worked on yourselves, both of you to have clear identities, clear lives, like separate lives of your own. And then you come together to build something beautiful rather than just staying alone and doing life alone. So I think that's another important piece. And then the last one is really making sure that their inner kind of locus of control and inner way of operating is aligned with yours. So really quick, there's a person I collaborated once that was very, very attached to numbers

and anyone who knows how I operate, I don't get attached to numbers. I don't set income goals. I don't set enrollment goals. Like I'm not attached to any of that. I believe that whatever you put out attracts what it is that you're meant to hold capacity for and to receive. And this person getting closer to the date of like our end of enrollment was getting really, really nervous and was overcompensating by going live multiple times and trying to offer bonuses and try to do these things. And they took it upon themselves to like, try to ramp it up thinking that they're helping the collaboration. But again, that kind of gives off the energy of desperation and of like attachment to the, to the goal or to the sale, which is not something that my brand represents.

So right then and there, I'm like, that's something I missed because I don't want to be associated with someone who gives off that desperate energy when it comes to sales and enrollment. I also don't want to be in business with someone who has frantic or chaotic energy when it comes to sales because I'm not like that whatsoever. Making sure that your approaches and your inner workings when it comes to enrollment, when it comes to retention, when it comes to creating spaces, like how do you curate that space? You know, some people love it for it to be a very safe environment where everything is spoon-fed to everyone, where support is available 24 seven.

Other people might have a little bit more of a stricter approach. So just making sure that your approach to how you deliver is similar with the other. In the next episode. Because I didn't know what the end result was gonna be. I didn't know how people are gonna respond. I didn't know... I didn't have any testimonials. I didn't have any of that. But what I had was a set of

skills that I had developed with people over a long period of time, which I then took and put into a group program. I think that there's a fine line where sometimes I myself have called out clients on some of their BS and said, hey this is a fear that's coming up. This is not actual intuition, but that has not been in the sales conversation. That's been when they've actually become clients. And when we're talking about them doing something difficult or doing something outside of their comfort zone, and I can feel that resistance coming up and I challenge them and offer some of that like coachy pushback, something that you've embodied, like you're putting your heart and soul into creating your marketing material.

And I genuinely believe that without that heart and soul, your marketing material is not gonna do well.