An Alternative Approach To Competition
Sige Weisman, one of my favorite clients, came to see me last month with a new business plan. She wants to provide business consulting for people in her field, she’s a licensed therapist. She sees the need, she’s done well marketing her own business, and she’ll be a great business coach... but that would put her into competition with 2hats Consulting. I want Sige to succeed, but is she threatening my own business?
My answer is that inviting competition is the best thing I can do for my business. And being an ally to your competition is great for your small business too. Remember: a professional service provider probably serves, at most, 100 unique clients in a year, and there’s over 5,000 licensed MFT’s in the Greater Bay Area —this just isn’t an environment where businesses are hotly competing over a small potential audience. Instead, the greatest challenge for small service providers is usually getting potential clients to become aware of them at all.
My answer is that inviting competition is the best thing I can do for my business. And being an ally to your competition is great for your small business too. Remember: a professional service provider probably serves, at most, 100 unique clients in a year, and there’s over 5,000 licensed MFT’s in the Greater Bay Area —this just isn’t an environment where businesses are hotly competing over a small potential audience. Instead, the greatest challenge for small service providers is usually getting potential clients to become aware of them at all.
And by supporting my competition I become a member of a supportive business community, rather than a defensive isolationist. Just last week I needed a replacement for my monthly SBA marketing presentation, and called on another business coach (and my client) Jessica Hadari, to cover for me - she rocked it.
Does having competition push me? Yep. Knowing there’s solid people, who I respect, serving the same people I do insures I develop new tools, I make sure I reach out to more people, and I strengthen my existing relationships. It’s good for me and it’s good my clients.
Does having competition push me? Yep. Knowing there’s solid people, who I respect, serving the same people I do insures I develop new tools, I make sure I reach out to more people, and I strengthen my existing relationships. It’s good for me and it’s good my clients.
