Everyone Has Competitors, Even Mice

One of the quickest ways to lose credibility with somebody who knows anything about business is to tell them you do not have competitors. Everyone has competitors that would love to take business away. Acknowledging competition and differentiating oneself is the way to beat your competitors.

A couple of months ago my spouse spotted a mouse in our house. They (gender assumed) darted across the floor and in to the laundry room, disappearing behind the dryer. They now knew they existed, and it definitely would have been foolish for us to pretend they didn't. My spouse (why is they always the who sees him first?) next saw him on a shelf in her closet. They had found an elderly bag of Halloween sweet my spouse had satisfied our children to give up in exchange for a toy. They knew my spouse spotted him, and, with no where to run, they decided to stay still, thinking the bag hid him from view. But his whole back half, including a long tail, exposed the sneaky creature. I was called in to exercise my well-honed mouse-catching skills--after all, I had completed this four times before.

Pretending I did not exist proved a bad choice for the mouse, and it won't work out well in the event you do the same to your competitors. But I caution you about another transgression entrepreneurs make when it comes to competition. It is competitor obsession. In the event you find yourself so focused on your competitors that you are, even in the slightest way, distracted from improving your own business, then you have competitor obsession.

I found a tupperware container, quietly approached the bag, and placed the container over the top of the bag and the mouse. Then I slid a narrow piece of cardboard under the container, keeping all of the contents inside, and drove that mouse to a pleasant field far away from our house where they would must work a tiny harder to find tasty Halloween treats.

So, my advice is to be aware of your competitors but not obsessed with them. Focus on improving your business and differentiating and "niching" your products and services and you will find the most success. The more you focus on your competitors the more attention you could be putting towards improving your own business is preoccupied with obsessing over your competitors and what they may or may not be doing in your industry.