Backend Products
Forget “Big Business” – They’re Not Your Competition
If so, you’re right and you’re wrong. You see, you have to carefully pick your battles when you try to create and profit from an online business. You are right not to try to compete with the mega stores if you sell the same types of items they do.
But you’re wrong if you think you can’t sell other items that they don’t carry – items like information products, custom created one-of-a-kind products, and other things that the big box stores have no desire to carry.
A small business with unique items to sell has many advantages over these Goliaths!
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, 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 hundreds or 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, are a business dingy – a one-person 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 smart way to survive . . .
This may sound a bit strange, but the only way you can profitably compete with these big powerhouses is to . . . (drum roll) . . . NOT TO COMPETE WITH THEM AT ALL.
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.
This is such an important solo business principle to understand! Memorize it. Repeat it in your sleep. Tape it to your forehead:
“I will never try to compete with Big Business!”
Let me explain with 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, Books a Million, and the gorilla Amazon, you just can’t figure out how you’re going to compete with their massive product selection, brand recognition, and their deeply discounted offerings. In fact, you can’t even buy books wholesale for what Amazon sells books 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 daily as a result of this “unfair competition” (remember the storyline of the Tom Hanks 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 one person business advantages. Just what are they?
You’ll read all the details about them in some of my other posts.
In a nutshell, they are:
- Agility
- Adaptability
- Lack of hierarchy and red tape
- Personalization
- Specialization
- Very little “baggage”
- Easy and simple infrastructure
- Autonomy
- No employees to manage
- Very few barriers to entry in most markets
- Fast and focused feedback
- Few customer care issues
- Digital products requiring no shipping
- Products can be easily and quickly updated
- “Community” experience and engagement if desired
- Customization of all business activities
- Ready access to prospects and marketplaces
Instead of competing with the big boys, learn to take advantage of your small, under-the-radar solo operator advantages in your small online business. You won’t have to worry about other’s discounting products or carrying a better selection than you do. When you are unique, you have no competition. You challenge will be to let others know the benefits of what you are offering.
To your online business success,
Steve Browne
www.SteveBrowneDirect.com