Competition: Breakfast of Champions

As consumers, we love competition. All those great companies out there competing for our business by offering better quality, more choice, different payment plans, and a variety of packages for bulk buying. One look at the shelves in a supermarket and you’ll know how sweet it is to live in a country where competition flourishes.

As a business owner, you are a big part of that. If your experience is similar to mine, you likely started your business because you saw a big need for what your own special talents and resources could provide. It may have been a completely new idea, or a better way of providing something that was already out there.

You had a vision of making the lives of your clients, employees, family and community better. In short, you want to leave the world a better place as a result of being here.

So why is competition so good for us?

Uniqueness. Competition forces you to identify your own uniqueness including the products and services you provide and the culture you create in your company. As you clarify that uniqueness over time, you are more and more able to focus your personal efforts on those aspects of your business that you love to do, with flair, and delegate the rest.

Efficiency. Competition keeps you on your toes. It keeps you sharp, always looking for where you can improve your productivity and your image as a company. You find yourself on a track of continuous improvement and sometimes amaze even yourself in what you are able to do.

Gratification. That part of you that likes to win is gratified every time you convert a new prospect into a client for your company. You know they have other options and instead choose you. In a monopoly situation, as with many government “crown corporations”, the “customer” has no choice but to use that one company that has been granted a monopoly. That’s politics, not business. As a business owner, you know that you are earning your clients’ loyalty with every day that goes by.

Collaboration. When you are confident that your company is unique in its industry, you are free to collaborate with companies that might otherwise be considered competition. For while they may offer some similar services, no one can do it just like you do. Likewise, each competitor’s uniqueness protects each of them. So together you can improve the image of your industry, create mutually beneficial training programs and standards that make you proud to be in the business you’re in.

Without competition, it would be easy to sleep on the job. And while some days you may not get as much sleep as you’d like, you can face each day with energy and enthusiasm because you know that you are a winner. Competition proves that.