The Business Guide
Just a regular guy that decided to quit his stable job and start a business. After successfully being in business I've learned a thing or two, unfortunately the hard way. I've created this podcast to share my successes & failures and to talk about the "real" ins & outs of business. I'll be personally sharing my stories along with guests.
As Business Owners we wear so many different hats and we have so many different struggles, we will breakdown those struggles together and talk about how we've overcome them and how it's shaped us to be better. If your a business owner currently going through a struggle, I hope this content helps!
The Business Guide
Thriving in Business by Embracing Competition
Curious how competition can become your greatest ally in business? Discover insights and strategies from my journey in the cutthroat restoration industry. This episode promises to transform how you perceive competitors, shifting your view from threat to opportunity. You'll learn how to harness competitor insights to boost your operations, marketing efforts, and customer satisfaction, ultimately driving your business to new heights.
In our discussion, I share stories about how building relationships with competitors has led to unexpected benefits, including valuable referrals and a better understanding of market dynamics. Learn the importance of keeping an updated list of competitors and attending local events to foster professional interactions. With practical tools like Wayback Machine, you can gain insights into competitors' past strategies and use these lessons to stay ahead in the game. Plus, discover how friendships with competitors can provide support during slow periods and contribute to your overall business growth.
Finally, we'll tackle the hard truths about entrepreneurship, highlighting the importance of perseverance and strategic thinking in overcoming business challenges. Hear about real-life experiences and setbacks, and how competition can be an unexpected motivator. Tune in to understand why success is rarely an overnight sensation and to gather tips on how to adapt and thrive in a competitive market. This episode is packed with actionable advice designed to help you leverage competition to fuel your business growth and sustain long-term success.
Hey everyone, it's Jonathan Wagner and I want to welcome you back to another episode of the Business Guide. On today's episode, we're going to talk about a subject that every single business owner deals with, and that is competition. But instead of fearing competition, I want to go over how you can take that competition and turn it into fuel to grow your business. So if you're dealing with a competitor in your industry, stay tuned to this episode, guys, looking over your shoulder at competitors is something that we all do. We get into the market we set. You know, we're doing market research, we're figuring out who's the best in our market or who's the best in our industry, and we're definitely kind of creating our business plan or creating our business somewhat like somebody else's Again or not again. But there's no reason to recreate the wheel, if you will. Now. Every single business has its own spin, its own personal touch, and that is how you grow. But using your competitors as an example and thriving to be better than your competitors can definitely grow and excel your business.
Speaker 1:I speak from experience Years and years and years and years ago and I'm talking about a much older generation, from my experience in interacting with them, competition was a very, very bad thing. They didn't want anything to do with each other. Any dollar that wasn't going into their particular pocket was a threat to their business. Now, this day and age social media, networking, communication is all a different. Yeah, it is on a different level, and I can tell you that I have made hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from competitors. Competitors are a great stream of income for your business and over time can make you very wealthy and really fuel your business.
Speaker 1:So let's dive into this, let's dissect this industry. Now, specifically, let me go into my industry. My industry I've mentioned it in the past restoration. It is a very tight, very saturated market, if you will. So many people are popping up every single day and everybody wants kind of a bite of insurance proceeds and all of that good or all of that good stuff, if you will. So my market is very competitive. I go out and have to network with other people that are going after maybe my same target audience for marketing and all that good stuff. So I can tell you very saturated market, very hard to break into, but people still break into it and still make a killing breaking into it. So just because a market is flooded with competition does not mean that you cannot stand out immediately and make some money and turn a profit. Stand out immediately and make some money and turn a profit. So let's dive into this. Let me get into my notes. So I think it's very important for everybody to understand competition is a natural part of business and rather than I mean I kind of went over this already, but rather than see it as a threat, you need to see it as an opportunity that going online, looking at reviews, looking at different websites, looking at different marketing materials this can all help you build your business.
Speaker 1:Now I know, when I was relatively in my infancy of business, I went on every competitor's website. I looked at their strategies, I looked at their marketing, I looked at their price points. I went on and I mean, if I saw their print material lying around, I took a copy of it and I definitely I wouldn't say copied my competitors, but I saw what was working for them and I decided to do it better and really, really excel my business, if you will, with my personal touch. Remember, we don't have to reinvent the wheel here. This is something that you know this day and age, you can go on to. If you're a plumber. You can go on to Facebook. You can go on to so many different platforms that have huge plumber societies and groups that just talk about common questions and answers and struggles you're going through. So always leave that door open and I will give you an example of how I was able to make money from somebody that wasn't even in my state off of just a Facebook connection and that was technically a competitor. So yeah, competition is huge. Competition improves our market.
Speaker 1:When I started, I mentioned this on a couple episodes ago, but I was always going after reviews. Not a lot of people were doing that at the time. I was going specifically on Yelp and in my industry and years later I had run into a competitor that had always trailed behind me and they said hey, jonathan, I just want to shake your hand to say thank you. I really think that you have drawn or you have set an example of what the industry in our area needs to be, and we have had to match that same customer satisfaction and expectation and without you going after the reviews and really standing out online, we would have never thought to do that. So thank you for that. So this is how competition can grow the market and that particular person, years later, has turned into a referral source and a referral source and I will go over that as well.
Speaker 1:So leave the door open for competitors. It is a very, very good thing Expanding your market as well. Maybe there's a competitor that you have that is offering the same particular service as you right now, but maybe they decide that or, excuse me, you decide to get into another service or tack on another service that goes in line with your primary service, but you're not able to offer that. Your competitor might have a referral because you are a good person in the industry. So keep that in mind when you are talking to your competitors. You're dealing in your market. Competitors are a very, very good thing. Now, it can be frustrating. It can be frustrating and there's a lot of people protect yourself from certain competitors, don't let them take advantage of you. Um, competitors can be frustrating. Sometimes there are competitors that will tell you one thing and go out and do another. It happens in my industry all the time. I see it probably on a quarterly basis, of maybe somebody making a phone call to me asking me a question about something and then I hear about it later in maybe a negative light or they're using my name in a negative light. I'm not afraid to be very friendly with my competition, but also call them out Um. I'm not afraid to be very friendly with my competition, but also call them out Um.
Speaker 1:I know that there was a competitor that uh was in my field and he was just offering horrendous services, completely ripping off the customers completely. Just, this guy should have gone out of business. And uh, you know I would see him around. Uh, local, you know, just the local area. Him getting gas, him going to the supplier, things like that, and we'd see him around and he was always willing to have a conversation, very friendly guy. His reputation preceded him from customers that were calling, getting second opinions, things like that. So that particular competitor, I called him out for it. I said you need to do better, you're doing horrible. I gave him some examples. People sometimes appreciate the truth. I know he did in that situation. Has he gotten better in the last couple of years? Yes, do I think he should still be in business? No, but that's okay. His reputation and the product that he leaves behind just makes me look better in my field.
Speaker 1:So absolutely, pay attention to your competitors. You know what do they say? Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. I would almost say that keep your friendly competition close, but keep your. I don't know, I don't know what I was trying to do there, guys, but yeah, keep your competitors close. I don't know, I don't know what I was trying to do there, guys, but yeah, keep your competitors close. Watch the ethical ones, watch the unethical ones and use it to improve your market and your niche and your message. Okay, so one way we need to get in we've got to figure out how to go after competitors. So I'm going to start with that. So let's go in, let's research competitors, let's figure it out.
Speaker 1:So, I think, going back, breaking into my market Google, start with Google, start with your service area. Start with every competitor. Make a list, make a list of 10 or 15 of the best people in your area that come up. Next, go on their Yelp profiles, go on their Google Plus profiles, go on their Facebook page Anywhere you can see a review. Look at their reviews. Now, remember and I think it was the last episode or the episode before it was the review episode Look how they're responding to their reviews. That is pretty crucial because you're really going to peel back kind of the onion that way. Maybe they like to blame the client for their downfalls. Maybe they don't show up on time, maybe they don't show up at all, maybe they don't dress appropriately. There's so many different things that you can jot down. Put this on an Excel spreadsheet and look at it. Start creating notes.
Speaker 1:Okay, so, now that you've gone through their reviews, go on to their websites. Look at their brand. See what their brand is about, see what their message is about. Are they family owned? Are they a big corporation? You really need to know this. Moving forward, this is very, very important.
Speaker 1:I've got a really good competitor in one of the cities we work in, very friendly guy. He's never referred me any work. I'll get into how my competitors refer me work later, but this particular guy never referred me work. But man, this guy will pick up the phone any time of day or night and just chat with you and give you his honest opinion of what's going on in the market. Now he has also indirectly made me some money. I'm not going to go over that, but leave the door open to always talk to your competitors.
Speaker 1:So you've gone on. You've looked at their reviews. You've looked at their reviews. You've looked at their website. You want to find out kind of what their brand identity is. Maybe you're going into distributors or suppliers. You're seeing their advertising. How are they advertising? What are they? Excuse me, what are they doing? Go on Indeed, go on any platform LinkedIn. Go on Indeed, go on any platform LinkedIn. See how they're hiring their employees, see what their breakdown. Open up a job description from these companies and find out what their company is about. This is all research you should do on your competitors 10 or 15. I would absolutely make a list of 10 or 15 people as you start diving in. I would definitely hold true to that. On the reviews on the website, figure out their brand, but getting into their job descriptions and how they're hiring employees and the expectations that they have, I'd probably save that for the top five competitors you're going into. You want to structure yourself to be competitive in the industry. Remember, you're not just going after customers, you're going after employees too. You want to go after better people. So you've done all of that research. I feel like I'm forgetting something.
Speaker 1:Social media Okay, pop onto their social media Now. This is going to go in line with their website presence, their brand identity? What does their social media look like? I've got a competitor that does not put out the best quality stories on Instagram, facebook pictures, but gosh, that guy puts out a lot of quantity. Is he keeping his audience engaged? Probably has a great following on some of these profiles. I've got another competitor not in my direct city but definitely does come to my county. That competitor has hired a full-time photographer that goes around, photographs their work, videotapes, edits everything and puts it out online. They are consistently posting. That is a part of their brand identity. They have a huge following. They're definitely doing that is a part of their brand identity. They have a huge following. They're definitely doing it right on social media.
Speaker 1:So really you need to dive into social media, probably on that website research Definitely look at their brand identity, their brand identity online. You need to be able to use this to gain insights, right? You're not going to be able to walk up to your competitor and say, hey, can I get your secrets on how you make your customers happier? Hey, can I get your secrets on your advertising? They're not going to give that to you, but slowly start building this strategy or this Excel spreadsheet, I would say, as you're going on Google and you're typing in your particular service, look for paid ads. Look for paid ads on Facebook. Slowly through time, and these algorithms on Facebook or Instagram or TikTok, they are catered to us but sometimes they mess up. So if you're in a particular industry, you may see that industry. You may see that person advertising to you by accident in that industry. Take note of what they're putting out there on social media. Take note of what they're putting out there on social media. Take note of what they're doing for ads. It's going to be a good insight to figure out what your competitors are up to and what they are doing Now.
Speaker 1:The next section is leveraging competitors' successes and mistakes. Leveraging Competitor Successes and Mistakes. Yeah, I had a really big competitor that had the employees, they had the brand identity, they had the work, but they did not have the price point and let me rewind by they had the work. So they definitely had a volume of work, for sure, and it was enough to keep their entire team employed, making money. They were very successful. But they let a lot slip through the cracks on their overall process of how they in took a client and handled billing that client, getting that client an estimate, the communication between the client and then their pricing. Their pricing was huge.
Speaker 1:So when I was starting, I realized that that competitor was leaving a lot of money on the table because their process was broken. So I advertised a certain way. I came up. When they came up, I got called as a second opinion and I wrote my estimates fair to what I needed at the time as a business, and I killed it. I picked up so much of their I don't want to say garbage, because it definitely wasn't garbage. These were high quality jobs but their excess and their fall through. I picked the clients that fell through the cracks, so that helped me very early on in business. This is how all of my competitor research the stuff I'm saying. Put it on an Excel spreadsheet, use Google Sheets. That's what I use. That is something that I did and still have to this day of a list of all of my competitors and different things that they do. And during slow seasons or once every other quarter, I'll go through it and I'll make sure that I'm advertising or I'm responding or I'm going onto their websites and I'm looking at their brand identity to make sure that my stuff is all fresh and relevant. Now my competitor let a lot slip through the crack years ago this was probably eight, nine years ago. Moving forward to now, that has taught me a valuable lesson of not letting a client slip through the cracks. So these competitors even though that particular competitor is no longer around, still helps me in my business and my mindset, because something I learned early on still helps me to this day to make money and capture clients Getting to know your competitors.
Speaker 1:I would say going out to local events. Don't be standoffish. When you see a competitor Walk up, smile, be nice, introduce yourself professionally. It is so refreshing as a legitimate business that has legitimate competitors that are willing to work together in the same market and be friendly. Now we all have different strategies of how we do business, how we don't do business, things that maybe we like, that they don't like. That is the beautiful part of competition. Don't see a competitor and say I'm not going to talk to that guy. He works for ABC company and I'm their direct competitor. I'm not going to talk to him. Don't do that. Make a name for yourself. Show them you're not afraid to stand out in your market and be the leader. You would be surprised at how many people have started very, very small and have become very big, but the people that were big never thought that would happen and they lose their market share. So, as a business owner, don't get comfortable, but definitely continue to know your competitors and what they are up to.
Speaker 1:Looking at your competitors you've met them.
Speaker 1:You talk to them. Maybe go through and look at their services. Look at things that work, that don't work. Now this could go back into some market research, but if you're online and you want to know what their website looked like five years ago, go to Google and search Time Machine. I think it's Wayback Machine. Go to Google search Wayback Machine and type your competitor's URL in there. You'll be able to see what their website was, maybe five or 10 years ago to what it is now. What services are they offering that they don't offer anymore? That is important. Maybe you're just gun-ho getting into the industry and you want to offer every service under the mount or under the under the sun, and maybe it's not as profitable for you. Maybe you're going to go in the red. These things are super crucial. So break down what your competitor has evolved to to this day. Use that as a little cheat sheet for yourself. Maybe there's things that they've the mistakes that they've made on their services or items or prices and you don't want to make that mistake. Use this as an example.
Speaker 1:Now, if you are friendly to a competitor and they do begin to open up, build a friendship. I've got a lot of friendships with competitors in my field, my industry, and that is local for sure. I have a ton of them. I go out and have routine dinners, routine lunches, phone calls these people I'm talking to all the time. What I really like about it is, if my market slows down, I'm able to pick up the phone and I'm able to talk to a competitor about that slowdown. Hey, what's going on? Have you ever seen this before? What do you think it is? These are things that, as your business maybe slows down, maybe it's a seasonal period or maybe it's just an abnormally slow season for you, this is going to help you get a better gauge of the market.
Speaker 1:Now, disclosure, disclosure. Not all competitors will share that information. That's why it's important to have multiple friends and buddies in the industry, because maybe out of 10, maybe six actually open up. But now that you're talking to six and six are kind of confirming what you're going through now. You know, maybe there's a slowdown and something's going on, so this is huge. Maybe, as they're opening up, talk to them about the mistakes they've made in the industry. What they have walked away from Now, that way back machine is something that's great, but that just gives you a snapshot in time of what they offered at that time, and there could be so many different reasons. They don't offer that anymore. So if you've got a competitor they're talking to you, maybe ask them hey, what's some advice you have for me in this area?
Speaker 1:A couple months ago I met a really nice couple that was starting up getting in our field. I can tell you my field is saturated, but after talking to them I realized that they were going to be a big player in the market and they have started to shape the market and carve a little niche spot for themselves. So they were very friendly, coming up and talking to me. They invited me to lunch. This was a good relationship that they were trying to start from the beginning with me. They invited me to lunch. This was a good relationship that they were trying to start from the beginning with me and definitely thankful for that. But now, as they go through their ups and downs. I'm getting the phone calls from them of, hey, is this normal, is this not normal? And it gives me an idea, as a bigger competitor, how they're doing and some of the struggles that they're going through.
Speaker 1:Now I don't want to say that I use some of those pain points as leverage, but they are competitors and I have a business that I'm trying to run and succeed. Now I do not go around and burn competitors or do certain things to competitors. What goes around comes around right, but when you're marketing and you're doing certain things, I have to say, being maybe an established business, our budgets are a little bit higher. There's things that we can do and we can use that as a strategy or in a. We can use that as a competitive advantage. So keep that in mind, competitive advantage. So keep that in mind.
Speaker 1:So I started the business, grew the business. I have my competitors, I have a big part of my market. We have a huge event and I invite a bunch of competitors to talk at a local town hall. So I have a bunch of relationships with competitors. Downhaul so I have a bunch of relationships with competitors. I want to let them know that I have their backs because there's enough work to go around, essentially, if you will. So I call them in and pass that down. What happens in those situations and I'm trying to be broad because I just don't feel like this applies to everybody, but I feel like if I'm broad about it, you can think of yeah, this could work for me or this might not work for me. So we have a huge event, we get invited to a town hall because we are a more established company, we have a presence and I invite competitors behind me to talk about the industry as well and common scams and education for our community Number one as the anchor business that is trying to educate the community. Well, I look good bringing in all these different competitors, but I'm the one up there that is the market leader, inviting other people up there to talk. So people that are looking for my service are now directly calling me because they see me as that leader me because they see me as that leader. They're also networking with my competitors directly, creating a bond with my competitors and my competitors are getting work out of that. So in this example that I gave you, where we had an incident, we coordinated a town hall with my company and multiple competitors. We host it. It not only was very successful for me as the company that was offering up this, very successful for me, but it was also very successful for my competitors to tag along and know me and be in the industry. So I was broad with my example.
Speaker 1:I hope that you're able to think if you're a plumber or an HVAC company or a landscaping company and there is something that happens in your industry or there's something that's going on in the year that you think you can bring a couple local competitors together, there could be an opportunity for both sides to make money. So keep that in mind. Making money is something we both want to do. So if we can both do it, we both succeed Right. If we can both do it, we both succeed right.
Speaker 1:It's funny. I'm trying to think how I structure this story because I have a couple different personal stories I can share with you. But I remember going into this competitor's facility when I was first starting my business and again remember I was very friendly, looked up competitors, did my research and went in and introduced myself. So I walked into this competitor's facility and they engaged. They were so positive, they were so nice. I remember looking up on their wall and seeing every different certification and license that you could imagine. I was like, wow, these guys are it. These guys have made it and I just I don't know if I'll ever be up to their level. It's funny because within a year I completely went over their level and those competitors to this day are really good friends of mine that consistently refer me work on probably a quarterly basis.
Speaker 1:But the thing about their work it's interesting. They like the smaller projects. It's a much smaller outfit so they can handle a lot of small projects, but anytime they get big projects which is specifically what my company likes it gets a little over their head. So they call us in to back them up immediately, without any hesitation. They pick up the phone and call us and, depending on the situation, either we give them a kickback or a percentage of the job. So we are fair to them. They are making money by picking up the phone and calling us, but so are we. So I would encourage you to go in and cold call or cold door knock that competitor, because that competitor can still make you money years down the line if done right. And don't be discouraged. I know I felt a little discouraged looking at all those certifications and licensing and thinking these guys are so far out of my league. Little did I know. Quickly, after about a year, they would be calling me and asking me for my advice. So that's a good one.
Speaker 1:I have a competitor that is a very, very, very, very, very small operation and, again, loves the small jobs but doesn't get a lot of work. I mean, he'll take the bigger jobs, but does not have the workforce to do anything big whatsoever on a big scale. If he got a big project, he does use some temporary labor so he's able to figure it out, but it's very far and few between. What I'm getting at with this particular competitor, though, is he is a master networker. He has no problem going to every single networking event in our county. He is a solid networker. He has no problem going to every single networking event in our county. He is a solid networker. Like if you could give a gold star for networking, this guy would have 10 of them, but on a day-to-day basis it does not pan out to work. He goes to all these in-person things. It should definitely be in your marketing strategy, but you shouldn't solely rely on it.
Speaker 1:This particular guy does. He does get a trickle of work. Like I said, he likes the small projects. He can handle them. He likes the bigger projects. He's got to call in some people but his work volume is very low. That's a good word for it. Work volume is low.
Speaker 1:So now think about a very, very busy season where we have a big event in our area and that has happened a few times throughout the course of the years that I've worked with this competitor. When his phone rings and he can't handle the work, he just essentially gives them my number and wants absolutely nothing in return, just his referrals taken care of. So it's interesting You've got somebody that is a smaller operation and likes the smaller jobs and will pass us the bigger jobs and we give them a percentage or a kick. And then you've got somebody else that is comfortable with the volume of work that he gets, but then when the phone starts to ring in an active season he just hands it off and says I just want you to take care of my client. Now there are many delicious, delicious lunches and dinners that he has had, because I don't let him get away scot-free where it's just yeah, I'm just going to take those customers. I do want to give you something, so let me buy you a nice fancy, fancy, fancy dinner or lunch, but you can see there two competitors that make up a little bit of a lead source. It's definitely not a dependable lead source that I can count on, but nonetheless leads that are essentially free into my business. And it's funny.
Speaker 1:I met that particular guy doing what he does best, which is marketing. I met that particular guy doing what he does best, which is marketing, and he was going to a particular group that, and I wouldn't say, didn't directly allow other competitors in there, but there was an unspoken rule and I remember kind of treading lightly saying, hey, I don't want to join this because I don't want to step on your feet, and he embraced it and said no, you come along, I've got my own thing, you can come out here and you can do what you need to do. So pretty interesting there how competition has made me money. So I give you these examples because these are everyday people like you and me that are successfully making money working with each other. I know I have a competitor that, again, I wouldn't say likes smaller jobs, but I put it this way, new in the industry and me just being the nice guy that I am wanting to build a relationship with somebody that I think is going to be successful in our industry, I funnel him a couple jobs that not necessarily weren't lost income for my business, but at the time we were just a little too busy to handle these particular line items and he was able to take care of them. He was able to buy and pay off specific equipment and start growing a little business for himself. Now this is long run. I have not seen any referrals from him directly to me, but this is a long-term play for me. So I'm not in business to make money for six months. I'm in business to lay the groundwork for five years from now, 10 years from now, 15 years from now. That's why I'm in business, so I do think of these as long-term plays years from now. That's why I'm in business, so I do think of these as long-term plays. So I can't stress enough Go, show up to your competitor's office, call your competitor, run into them at an event and be nice, be friendly.
Speaker 1:I'm going to share a bad example of a competitor. There was a particular gentleman that was going around on these different networking groups. I was running into him right and left Me being the friendly guy I wanted to make a relationship. This guy could see that. He then asked we kind of came up with our agreements of he could go to these groups, I could go to these groups, I could do these events he could do these events was going to go to, but then coming over to my events and one day I finally asked him. I said, hey, we kind of came up with an agreement so we weren't stepping on each other's toes. You have not held up your agreement. When can I expect you to do that? And he was rude. He says look, I'm in business to make money, I'm not in business to make friends.
Speaker 1:About a month later I saw him at an event that I had sponsored a booth and he literally walked a couple booths down. He was not a vendor, didn't say hi to me, but as people passed my booth he then handed out his business card. Yeah, unethical business practices, shady competition. That was definitely somebody I was willing to give a shot and I was willing to be a friendly competitor. I was willing to do these things. But he wasn't about that. He was a part of that older generation that I was talking about talking about, but I will say something about him versus me now is there's a clear difference between both of our businesses. My business is still in operation and his isn't. So let's think about who won the long-term play there.
Speaker 1:Be good to your competitors, they will be good to you. Don't trust every single one of them, but don't just rule it out, because you can totally make a ton of money. I think I'm trying to. I'm trying to think of how I can structure this. To be a broad example, yeah, I can't, so I'm just not gonna say that. Look my note. My note here says coexisting in a mutual beneficial manner. That's kind of a kind of a mouthful. So I I think it's confusing me, but you don't have to get along with every single competitor. Keep the door open.
Speaker 1:That competitor I was telling you about with the reviews very early on in business, that competitor switched out into a different field. That happens to be a direct referral source for my current business. So at the time we were both growing our carpet cleaning businesses. We both changed and adapted and got into different industries, but now he is a main referral source for my business. Guys, that's just me being friendly competition with these guys.
Speaker 1:So don't rule it out. Create a strategy, get a Google Sheet going, figure out who your competitors are, what's working for them, what's not working for them. Pick up the phone, walk in person and create real meaningful relationships, real meaningful relationships. And look, if you have 20 competitors, I'd expect you to only probably actually network and have a friendship with probably five or six of them and then probably out of that 20, an additional five or six that know who you are will pick up the phone, will take your call at any point. So that's like 12 competitors you've got on your side and the rest, don't expect them to do anything, expect garbage people or expect them to do unethical things that maybe you wouldn't do. But use that to your advantage. You know if they're not doing something right. Use that to your advantage. You know if they're not doing something right, use that to your advantage. Use it as a selling technique. Use it on something to land their clients away from their business over to yours. So I hope that you found this episode helpful on competitors.
Speaker 1:Again, guys, unscripted new at podcasting. So I appreciate if you've listened. If you have listened this far through the episode, I really appreciate it. Give me a shout out that you you listen to it. I'd love to see it.
Speaker 1:Speaking of shout outs, I have a question, a question from one of the listeners. So if you don't know if you're on a podcast, apple podcast or Spotify, you can actually send a little message. This came in through there, comes in as a text message, I think. You send us a text message, so pretty cool, but I get it. I can definitely reply, go back and forth with you, but I want to get these out onto our podcast. So, jesse don't know where he's from. I'm just going to assume the United States says why is it so easy to fall but so hard to get back up? Now, this came in from our last episode on adapting to change. If you didn't listen to that episode, please take 30 minutes and check that out. It's important to adapt to your market trends. But, jesse, this is such a great question on why is it easy to fall but so hard to get back up. I'm almost going to challenge you and say for me it's probably harder to fall and easier to get back up onto the horse, because I have fallen so many times.
Speaker 1:See, being an entrepreneur and a business owner, I think there is definitely. I mean I know there is a misconception. We have all of our stuff figured out, we have successful businesses. Man, we're living the high life. That's a perception that a lot of people put on being a business owner, right, and I think when you start a business and you create this golden idea, you dump a ton of money into it or a ton of your time into it and you think, hey, just because I've got the best product and I've got the best equipment, now the customers are going to use me and I'm going to make a ton of money. And when you start losing that, when that doesn't start working out, when that doesn't work out for you, Because, right, building a business, I mean you would be very lucky if you were an overnight success, but 99% of us aren't. We have worked hard and we have worked hard for years, and a lot of people getting into a particular industry, they don't necessarily take that into consideration. It takes years to ramp up and so, with the comment of why is it easy to fall, I would say it's probably easy to fall because you're giving up or you don't have enough invested.
Speaker 1:I spoke in the last episode that, adapting to market change, you can't take your foot off that gas or, excuse me, sometimes you have to take that foot off the gas or foot off the throttle. I know I said something like it hurts your pride, but it's yeah, I think it hurts your pride, right? You're putting your heart and soul into this. You're putting long hours, maybe you're not spending as much time with the family and you're pouring it into the business and the business isn't working out. And now you have to let off of that because maybe you need to adapt to your market. You need to take a couple steps back. You need to regroup. You need to think.
Speaker 1:That, for me personally, is harder than getting back up. So fall is definitely hard, right, you look in some wounds, you got to put some Band-Aids on, but when you started to learn how to ride a bike, I bet you fell, because I did, but you didn't stop riding the bike, you got back up and you got back onto the bike. So we need to get back onto the horse. We need to get back onto the horse and we need to go Again. So we need to get back onto the horse. We need to get back onto the horse and we need to go Again. I hope that helped's been so many things that have not worked out my way, but I can tell you I didn't quit. I was dedicated and I stayed very clear-minded on being in business and working through those problems, and I was able to work through that. All right, guys. Some final thoughts.
Speaker 1:Competition does not have to be a race to the bottom. It can be a powerful driver for growth and innovation if you approach it with the right mindset. Embrace healthy competition and use it as a tool to elevate your business. Now I really stared at my computer because I wrote this down, thinking if there is a message that I want to get across out of all the examples and out of the different things that I'm telling you about the episode because, right, I'm kind of free ball on this, if you will this is important.
Speaker 1:You don't need to be discouraged if a competitor is doing better than you are. Use it as fuel, use it to grow your business. Use it to grow your business. I had I had a not so friendly competitor, by the way, I'm still in business and this competitor is not Tell their staff that I was a fly on the wall when we started to ramp up and that somebody needed to squash that fly. That was mean. I don't say that about my competitors, but I always go back to thinking about that when I'm dealing with competitors. Don't underestimate the small dog or that small fly on the wall, because one day they're going to take your food and they're going to fly away. And that's what we did we took their food, flew away and they are no longer in business. So use your competition as a very powerful tool to grow your business and use it as let me go back and use it as a tool to elevate your business.
Speaker 1:Okay, guys, hey, thanks for joining us on another episode of the Business Guide. I really appreciate the time you've taken to listen to this episode. I'm doing this for you, guys. I want to put good content out there. So if you can think of improvements that I need or you can think of an episode that you would like to hear, please let me know. Again, I'm not a professional podcaster. I'm just a regular Joe Schmo that happens to be in business and I've been pretty successful at it so far, and I just want to share the message of the different things that I've been through in business to help other entrepreneurs succeed. So with that, thank you again for joining us and I'll catch you on the next episode.
