Large business organizations are like 1,000’ cruise ships: they’re slow to get underway, slow to bring to a halt, they require a very wide turning radius, take a large crew to man properly, and tons of daily fuel to propel.
And, oh yea, they’re loaded to the hilt with baggage!
Operating such a beast requires a crew of thousands and enough financial and physical resources to run a small country. I’d be surprised if some of these vessels don’t have their own zip code!
You, on the other hand, in your home based business, are a one-person dingy – a tiny drop in the ocean, so to speak, that better stay clear of the path of these giants or you’ll be sucked into their wake and lost at sea forever!
But there is a way . . . a secret way to survive . . . and even thrive!
I kind alluded to this in my previous two posts . . . buy you may have read those and not understood totally what I meant by "competing" successfully when I also said there was no way for you to compete head-to-head with the giants.
This may sound a bit strange, but the only way you can profitably compete with these big powerhouses is to . . . (drum roll) . . . NOT COMPETE WITH THEM.
Say what?
Yes, that’s it: don’t even waste one second of your business life going head-to-head with these guys. They’ll crush you and never bat an eyelash.
What I'm talking about is not selling the same products they sell. Not providing the same services they provide. Not trying to copy, or duplicate, or even be like them.
But you can successfully share the same niche they are in. You can target the exact same customers that they target. You can be seen as an important player in the same space.
This principle is so very important for the small business home operator. Memorize it. Repeat it in your sleep. Tape it to your forehead:
"I will never try to compete directly with Big Business!"
Let me give you a quick example that most of you can relate to:
Suppose you owned a corner bookstore or maybe you just love reading and have always wanted to start a book business.
But as you look at Barnes & Noble, Borders, and the gorilla Amazon, you just can’t figure out how you’re going to compete with their massive book selling machines: great product selection, brand recognition, and their deeply discounted offerings. In fact, you probably can’t even buy books wholesale for what Amazon sells books for at retail.
The truth is – there is no way you can compete directly with such power and dominance.
In fact, there are small town bookstores around the globe closing their doors as a result of this “unfair competition” (remember the storyline of the movie, "You’ve Got Mail"?).
So don’t even try!
Here is what I want you to do:
Instead of competing with the big boys, learn to take advantage of your small, under-the-radar, online business advantages.
So, just what are they?
You'll read all about them in the next post, "Ten Important Solo Business Principles."
