Competition. One of the challenges in life that scare us the most. Confidence diminishes, inferiority arises, and the feeling of defeat creeps up as the cluttered market place becomes daunting. One of the set backs any industry faces are the number of people and companies doing something similar to what you’re doing. Selling clothes. Making wine. Taking pictures. The number one thing people tend to say to me when I tell them I’m in the fashion industry and I own a Women’s Fashion Brand, is “wow thats a tough industry. It’s so competitive.”
In the beginning I would listen to this and it would frighten me a little bit. However, I was in the wine aisle at the grocery store and from then on my perspective completely shifted. I stood looking at the shelves staring at the 100+ options. I thought to myself, if each of these wines are successful and they are literally sitting on a shelf next each (with slight variation of course), then competition is not real. And if it is, I'll be joining you wine and we got this.
Competition is there. However, its our choice to notice it or not. I see competition as a positive aspect to the industry I’m in. We are all inspired by people creating around us. Without the big dogs leading the way, there would be a lot more mistakes made to find the winner. It pushes us further and challenges the status quo of what we are doing. Now, I'm guilty of stalking competitors, but I've learned when your entire focus is on your competitors, you’ll start to believe that their innovations are the only possibilities for you and your company, too. Which is far from the real.
While growing up I played sports and through high school I was a track runner. Sprint was the name of my game, and with only 100 yards to dash, there was no time to look back at any other person in the race. At any point your head turned to look, your speed slowed down. I have found the same goes in business. Our natural inclination when looking at competition is a slight tendency of jealousy or the feeling of inferiority like I’m not doing enough. You might start to feel a stall in your progression, but without giving attention to others in the same race, your view becomes clearer, vision becomes stronger, and you focus on what it is about what you’re doing that makes you unique. Find that uniqueness and sprint forward. If you take a look around, remember what you are doing in different. Theres no reason to stall, or to neglect competitors. Respect competitors and capitalize on your own strengths.
Don't let competition scare you from starting what you've always wanted. Let it fire you up and build a brand that other's can't touch. Originality. Uniqueness and great customer service will keep you in the game ;)
And for those of you that made it to the bottom of this. Due to the season of giving, and my overall gratitude for the tribe, enjoy free shipping on all orders until December 25th!
Enter DEMISTRIBE at checkout :) Enjoy!
Special Thanks To This Love:
D E M I 'S D E T S
DUSK TO DAWN JACKET - HERE
WHITE WASHED AND CROSSED ROMPER - HERE
