Many people view competition as a bad thing, and use it as an excuse to not start a business.
Competition is a good thing because it proves that there is a market for what you want to sell.
Still, competition does make your life as an Entrepreneur more difficult because your customer will have more options vs if you are the only game in town.
So what if there is some indirect competition and you know there is a market? That would seem to be an ideal situation, right?
The truth is that just because there isn’t any direct competition before you start your business doesn’t mean there won’t be any as soon as you do start your business.
Take my wife’s side business, Girlie Girl Parties, as an example. Before we started the business, there were already a ton of birthday service businesses, even one or two focused on young girls, but none that offered the parties we wanted to offer. The market was there, indirect competition proved it could be profitable, and we felt confident in our offerings being unique.
Less than a year later, at least FIVE other local businesses have started offering the same services as us. Wow!
It’s a frustrating thing that many first-time Entrepreneurs are surprised to find out, especially when the competition outright copies your ideas. When your competitors see a chance to make money, they are going to seize it. Business is ruthless. Every day, your competitors will try to take away your customers.
You have to be prepared for that, but what can you do about it?
Don’t worry about it!
That’s right. Ignore what your competition is doing. It doesn’t really matter.
90% of your focus should be on your customer and what value you are providing them. The only reason to pay attention to your competition is to know what other options your customers are comparing you to.
Any energy spent worrying about what your competition is doing is energy that could have been used instead for providing more value to your customers.
Update: A guy much more seasoned than myself, Venture Capitalist Fred Wilson, recently posted about the pros and cons of competition. It, along with most of the other stuff he posts, is a great read.
