Don’t worry about the competition. They are only direct competitors if you follow their lead. Instead, set your own course. Play your own game.
If you have played (or watched) sports, you’ve experienced the difference that this makes. Even when two teams are evenly matched, one can dominate the other for an extended period of time – or even an entire game. One team is a half step ahead on every move, and the other, a half step behind. One team feels the flow of everything working together. And the other team, going through the same basic motions, cannot find any rhythm. It isn’t the most talented team that will win, it’s the team that “plays their own game.”
Bringing this back to business, this is exactly what I love about small companies. It’s not about being the strongest or the best. It’s about creating the game that you’re playing within. The idea of finding your niche is overused… but it touches on this concept. The problem is people often implement this by thinking “What that company is doing looks good, I’ll choose that as my niche too.” However, it’s not about finding a niche, it’s about creating a niche.
Small companies win when they create their own game. No competitor can keep up if you are always a half step ahead. That’s why successful small businesses often get called, another overused word, disrupters. This is really just another way of saying that this company came and played their own game.
Don’t worry about the competition. Trust your capabilities. Lean into the value you bring to customers. If you bring something of value, and keep making it more valuable, then it does not matter what the competition is doing. You will win. This is why I love the game of small business.
If you have played (or watched) sports, you’ve experienced the difference that this makes. Even when two teams are evenly matched, one can dominate the other for an extended period of time – or even an entire game. One team is a half step ahead on every move, and the other, a half step behind. One team feels the flow of everything working together. And the other team, going through the same basic motions, cannot find any rhythm. It isn’t the most talented team that will win, it’s the team that “plays their own game.”
Bringing this back to business, this is exactly what I love about small companies. It’s not about being the strongest or the best. It’s about creating the game that you’re playing within. The idea of finding your niche is overused… but it touches on this concept. The problem is people often implement this by thinking “What that company is doing looks good, I’ll choose that as my niche too.” However, it’s not about finding a niche, it’s about creating a niche.
Small companies win when they create their own game. No competitor can keep up if you are always a half step ahead. That’s why successful small businesses often get called, another overused word, disrupters. This is really just another way of saying that this company came and played their own game.
Don’t worry about the competition. Trust your capabilities. Lean into the value you bring to customers. If you bring something of value, and keep making it more valuable, then it does not matter what the competition is doing. You will win. This is why I love the game of small business.
Having faith that your creative ideas, especially as a small company that lives within the constraints of what’s necessary to live within when you are a small company, is probably the strongest strategic leg up that you can give yourself.