Who are those imitators trying to muscle you out of the game? They are called competitors. Just like large conglomerates and corporations, small businesses are going to have competitors. If you don’t have competitors, maybe you are not really in business?
But how to deal with idea-stealing imitators who try to one up you at every juncture? Well, you start by protecting your intellectual property by seeking copyright, patent and trademark protection where you can. But to some extent, you are not going to be able to eliminate your competitors completely. They will muscle you out of business with price wars, aggressive advertising and marketing, and bigger budgets and balance sheets.
Entrepreneurs understand that competition drives innovation and invention. Innovation and invention drives fiscal success. So competition is good. Healthy competition is good. The trick is not to let your competitors run you out of business with superior products and services in the market place. The way to avoid that is to constantly look at trends, nurture your own and others’ creativity, adapt and change when needed, and have a true passion for whatever it is you do.
Study the competition also. Maybe there is something they do that is better than what you do, and by studying them you can improve your own game. It is probably error to be an imitator only, however. A successful business person, to some extent must be able to blaze their own path, stand out. Be a Seth Godin “Purple Cow.” And ultimately, the aim is to better the competition at each juncture, while, contemporaneously, being the best that you can be.
3 years ago
