How do you measure success in business? I bet you determine how successful you are by comparing your performance with that of a competitor that you secretly envy. Well, that is a big mistake. Like it or not, it is a totally wrong approach that places limitation on your potential as an entrepreneur.
I will ask you three simple questions. After you have answered them sincerely, I will point out the reason why competition is not the way to go in business.
- Who made the Rule? (I am referring to the business rule you are trying to follow)
- What qualifies the fellow to be the judge of what is IDEAL?
- What stops you from making the Rule and being the judge of what is IDEAL?
Simple questions but thought provoking. A lot of small business owners are experiencing burnout in business. Not quite a few have actually packed up their business and gone back to paid employment. Why? Simple, their goals were wrong from the beginning. They wanted to be like “COMPETITOR”. Well they never made it because he that made the rule is the judge. So everything is already in the guy’s favor and you are already at a disadvantage. He can always change the rule in the middle of the game! The result of the game has long been determined before the competition started!
I guess you didn’t like that, but it is true. Here is another one, nobody like copycats! Do you? Why should I buy your beverage that you call “Coca Kola” using a bottle similar to that of Coca Cola. Everyone already knows that if it is not Coca Cola, it can’t be like it. I will rather buy “Naija Nutrient” so that people will turn around and ask me, what is this new beverage all about? (by the way, Naija Nutrient is yet to be launched, it is still in the incubator, so don’t look for it in the grocery stores )
I belief the message is clear. Get creative in your business, stop competing. Stop engaging in futile competition with well established businesses. They will only get you wearied as they set new rules and stipulate what the IDEAL SUCCESS is using their own BIASED CRITERIAS! Here is an example of rules set in time past;
- Someone said the ideal way to travel is by using our legs, walking,
- Another said the ideal way to travel is by using animals (horse, donkey, camel etc)
- Another said the ideal way to travel is by using animal driven carriage
- Another said the ideal way to travel is by using mechanically driven carriage
- Another said the ideal way to travel is by using information and communication technology
- Another said the ideal way to travel is by using …….. (this statement is waiting to be completed by any of us that dares to be creative!)
It is time to break the rule and set another standard. Yes, set your own standard and make it the IDEAL STANDARD. It is time to set free your creative mind and step out of the crowd. Consumers love innovation. If you are the first to offer a new product, a new service or a new way of meeting a need, you can be rest assured that consumers will love you.
Ok that is it. Creativity in Business is the secret to beating the well established business, not competition. In Nigeria, the Yorubas have a saying, “Abo oro l’anso f’omoluwabi, to ba de nure a dodindi” You want the interpretation, use Google Yoruba. Yes, it will do the interpretation for you, though the accuracy is not guaranteed. Ok, because time is money, here is the equivalent in English “A word is enough for the wise”. See you at the top.
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Tags: Business Tips, Entrepreneur
I definitely agree with the idea that you should never ever enter a market where you can’t win and will compete against people who defined the rules in the first place.
People should definitely strive to carve out their niche and dominate it if they want long term success e.g. creating an open source operating system instead of trying to invent a mainstream operating system that will complete with Windows and MAC Osx.
That having been said, I think it’s very important for people to model success. Rather than constantly striving to reinvent the wheel, I genuinely believe that modeling success is one of the keys to rapid success in any human endeavor. In fact I wrote about this some time ago:
http://www.thedisplacedafrican.com/134/become-succesful-by-modelling-success/
Hi Mwangi, I read that article you referred to and I totally agree with the points.
I love the fact that the emphasis is on LEARNING from the success of others, not becoming their SHADOW.
It all boils down to having mentors and learning from their experience. However, such knowledge must be use to produce something ORIGINAL, not a COPY! Thanks for visiting.
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