Thread: Stop and move on or take on the competition?

Originally Posted by theBiz

not to go in depth with this, but couldn't the 150 competitors be a big reason leading to you losing $100 per day?

No the competition had nothing to do with it. The fact that within a few months, we grew to doing 30-50 deals a day shows how week the competition was.

I lost 100 bucks a day because I never took the time to learn the business.

I closed the business because at that time I was grossing $1,500-$2,000 and losing 100 bucks. While my main business was grossing 20k to 50k a day and I was making 5k per day.

Not worth the effort.

Originally Posted by theBiz

you've got two paying customers already for your new book....

Make that 3.

Originally Posted by theBiz

50 deals a day grossing $2,000. Are you saying you were doing jobs for $40.00 each?

Yea, if I remember correctly. This was before the turn of the century. $40 to $50 a spray and with an upsale to a quarterly contract. I think our sale started at 39.95 spring special.

Originally Posted by Illusion

I would love to read a millionaire story written by you. You seem to have some pretty interesting stories and experiences!

A lot of people say that.. I should write a book and then everyone should do the exact opposite.

Thanks though, 4 book sales.. humm. I just need 400k more pre-sales to get to writing..

Originally Posted by Mike A.B.

Guess what? I found a small business that was doing what I wanted to do

Who gives a damn. I have learned if you let competition keep you from carrying on then your toast. You seem to have some numbers for that company, use that for a strategic analysis, possibly you have more? I for one have to agree somewhat with both JackEdwards and thebiz. If its competition you want then look no further than the construction industry, which I have some knowledge in . Its virtually the only industry that I can think of after a few beers , where the more experienced legitimate contractors can get squeezed out of the market during times such as these. Anyone who picks up a hammer and nail bag, or airless sprayer, can call themselves a contractor or pest controller, albeit not a qualified one. These types get into the market by saying hell ill do it for half that, which is bad biz, but hey they often get the job in these current times; even if their quality is well under par. What can you do that they cant or what can you capitalize on that your competitor currently is not for example. Sometimes its easy to beat out 30 competitors little alone one, thats a cakewalk.

Sometimes it is a very detailed game, the more competition there is in any market the more you have to drill down to find weak points of attack. Just because they are able to spend more on marketing doesn’t mean they are spending the dollars where they count. You have only mentioned one competitor for your market, this would be a dream come true in many industries provided the market captured by your competition is only a fraction of the total market share, which is another debate.

Originally Posted by IdleMogul

Anyone who picks up a hammer and nail bag, or airless sprayer, can call themselves a contractor or pest controller, albeit not a qualified one.

FYI: We were licensed by the state...So really no one can just pick up a sprayer and start spraying, but I see your point.

Didnt mean to imply anything Jack , simply an analogy. It would be better if all states required ALL subs to be licensed but that is not the case.

Originally Posted by theBiz

not to go in depth with this, but couldn't the 150 competitors be a big reason leading to you losing $100 per day?

No matter how much competition, if you have a Unique Selling Point, you can be better. That's Marketing101. Branding is key.