The Importance of Competition in Business

Competition, according to Wikipedia, is the foundation upon which capitalism is justified. Competition keeps prices low and quality high. It encourages the development of new products, services and technology. So if competition is such a good thing, why are so many small business owners afraid of it?
Use your competition to evaluate how you are doing. What products or services do they offer that you don’t? Are your competition’s products or services better quality than yours? Do they have a better location than you? Does their advertising pop off the page while yours gets lost on it? Evaluate what you see and use it to improve your business.

How often do you wish you had more hours in the day? As hard as we try, we cannot do everything. Try referring business that you cannot or do not want to handle to your competition. Perhaps they will refer back to you.

Do you have enough time to stay current on all the changes or innovations taking place in your industry, probably not? The next time you learn something new, email that information to one of your competitors. Maybe one day they will email a valuable piece of information back to you.

How about taking a vacation? I know half of you just said “What vacation?” Wouldn’t it be great if you had someone to rely on so you could take off one day or maybe a weekend or thank you Lord, a whole week? Become good friends with your competition and they could cover emergency situations while you take a vacation.

And last but absolutely one of the most important issues every small business owner must think about is a continuity plan. Someday, when you decide to retire or God forbid you become ill, a friendly competitor could be part of your continuity plan and buy you out.

Every one of the suggestions I have posed here has worked for me. I guarantee that if you choose the right competitors to work with you can turn competition into a win/win situation!

IRS Circular 230 Disclosure

Pursuant to U.S. Treasury Department Regulations, we are now required to advise you that any federal tax advice contained in this communication, including attachments and enclosures, is not intended by the Sender or Sandra G Johnson, CPA, P.C. to constitute a covered opinion pursuant to regulation section 10.35 or to be used for the purpose of (i) avoiding tax-related penalties under Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another party any tax-related matters addressed herein.