You only need to worry about your competition when…
… quotes like this hit a raw nerve when thinking about your business:
”A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within”.
Will Durant
Whether you are a ‘one man band’ or have a number of staff working with you, make sure you can feel strong and positive from within about what you do so that you can stand up on the strength of it. Knowing what you are about usually helps generate that je ne sais quoi (I don’t know what it means but it’s French) or ‘USP’ for the jargon junkies.
I would be fairly happy to bet that if I laid out what I did against you guys that we did pretty much the same, but as far as our customers are concerned we’re getting it right with them and that’s what matters. There’s lots of business out there and the best way is to stand above what everyone reads on the online directories and focus on getting the happy customer to recommend you to others… it’s a lot cheaper to do and far more effective.
Shout about what you are, what you’re good at, and be proud to tell anyone who’s listening - just make sure you do it appropriately. Just like life, if they don’t like you then there’s not a lot you can do about it but smile* and move on. If you aren’t ready to rock and roll on the inside then don’t expect others to look beyond what you present and expect them to guess what you are trying to be.
There’ll be plenty of time to work out where you are as a business at the SBSC Symposium. Events like this have always helped those delegates looking for answers, even those such as Vlad (good link to go back and read once in a while) get a kick out of comparing notes…
*smiling is of course an option but it helps to leave on a good note just in case you have to revisit it! 