HALIFAX – There is a common belief that to succeed in business, one must operate independently and, most importantly, be constantly competing with rival businesses to get as much profit as possible. The idea of sharing resources or knowledge with a competing business is akin to cutting off your own limb.

But there is one business advisor in Halifax who is working hard to turn around the “old school” way of operating a business. Dorothy Spence, the owner and operator of The Purpose Led Business School and Imaginal Ventures, believes it’s about time entrepreneurs worked together to help themselves and the environment.

“We believe that traditional businesses typically create very competitive and hierarchical systems and structures. And the importance of a return to the shareholder is the focus of how we were taught how to build our businesses,” says Spence.

“I feel that form of capitalism and that operating model really has got to go.”

Spence envisions a future where businesses come together to create an “ecosystem,” much like organisms do in nature. In fact, the name Imaginal Ventures comes from the name of the cells that come together inside a caterpillar to create a butterfly.

Spence has been teaching such communal principles to the Halifax business community for years. In June she is partnering with TD Bank to do a virtual course with 25 women who have founded tech startups across North America. If there is a hyper-competitive industry that could use more collaboration and less resource wasting, it’s the technology sector.

“The whole platform is about an ecosystem development,” explains Spence. “So, they’ll get to know each other, they’ll go through some specific programming, then they’ll have access to the platform, where they build out their conscious operating system.”

“It really changes the whole access to network, to funding, to knowledge, to mentorship, that a lot of these women don’t have access to, especially if you’re not living in the major cities in Canada and the USA. So, it’s a really under-served, underrepresented population.”

The Purpose Led Business School already has a track record of empowering female business leaders locally. April Stroink a Halifax “Money Coach,” says Spence helped her build a business that can both make money and have a positive impact on the community.

“Participating in Imaginal Venture’s Purpose Led Business School has had the biggest positive impact on my business,” said Stroink.

“Not only did I explore how my business can be a force for good, but I also learned about myself as a business person and the impact that I want to have in my community. Dorothy taught me both the mechanics of running a profitable business and the mindset of making it purpose-led.”