Do you have what you believe is a decent business idea or product, but get scared out of ever starting because you feel you can’t compete with the big guys in your niche?
The good news is… You don’t have to.
When I first started out, I had what I believed was a pretty solid business idea. But then I would go online to check out the competition and come across another awesome looking, professional website with amazing customer testimonials and then suddenly second guess everything I was doing. I’d get discouraged and instead of getting started I’d delay pulling the trigger on my idea.
Eventually I decided to jump in anyway and things all worked out for the best. But I could have just as easily gone the other way and never started.
What I didn’t realise back then was that if there’s a poorly run business making money in your niche then you can make money too.
Next time you’re checking out the competition don’t just check out the main competitors in your niche. Look for the little guys (the one’s on page 4 or 5 of google). If there’s established businesses in your niche with inferior products, crappy websites or poor customer service (preferably all 3) then all you need to do to make some money is outperform these guys, not the big players.
And obviously I don’t mean you can just hastily slap something together and do well. You should always do your best to add value for your customers and make the entire process a pleasant one for them, but you shouldn’t let strong competitors discourage you. Many niches have room for plenty of businesses.
Looking back now there are plenty of things I did pretty poorly in the beginning but through trial and error, have gradually improved.
For instance, in the beginning I did all my own product photography and while they didn’t look as good as the big competitors, they looked better than what many of the smaller competitors had. Fast forward a few years and I can now outsource all the product photography and my website looks every bit as good as the ones that use to scare me off.
And while I started out as a small player competing against other small fish, my business is now one of the biggest in our niche and a recognised brand that our customers love. The big guys are now my peers and my competitors.
So next time you’re feeling discouraged just use the big guys for inspiration and the little guys for motivation. And remember that while you should strive for perfection, you don’t have to be perfect... Just get started and improve from there.
The good news is… You don’t have to.
When I first started out, I had what I believed was a pretty solid business idea. But then I would go online to check out the competition and come across another awesome looking, professional website with amazing customer testimonials and then suddenly second guess everything I was doing. I’d get discouraged and instead of getting started I’d delay pulling the trigger on my idea.
Eventually I decided to jump in anyway and things all worked out for the best. But I could have just as easily gone the other way and never started.
What I didn’t realise back then was that if there’s a poorly run business making money in your niche then you can make money too.
Next time you’re checking out the competition don’t just check out the main competitors in your niche. Look for the little guys (the one’s on page 4 or 5 of google). If there’s established businesses in your niche with inferior products, crappy websites or poor customer service (preferably all 3) then all you need to do to make some money is outperform these guys, not the big players.
And obviously I don’t mean you can just hastily slap something together and do well. You should always do your best to add value for your customers and make the entire process a pleasant one for them, but you shouldn’t let strong competitors discourage you. Many niches have room for plenty of businesses.
Looking back now there are plenty of things I did pretty poorly in the beginning but through trial and error, have gradually improved.
For instance, in the beginning I did all my own product photography and while they didn’t look as good as the big competitors, they looked better than what many of the smaller competitors had. Fast forward a few years and I can now outsource all the product photography and my website looks every bit as good as the ones that use to scare me off.
And while I started out as a small player competing against other small fish, my business is now one of the biggest in our niche and a recognised brand that our customers love. The big guys are now my peers and my competitors.
So next time you’re feeling discouraged just use the big guys for inspiration and the little guys for motivation. And remember that while you should strive for perfection, you don’t have to be perfect... Just get started and improve from there.
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