Chapter 5: Competition

Starting a business can be fun, and it can be stressful. You can meet great people, and you can also meet some not great people. In my experience, I have met some business individuals that have built a strong community of helping each other out, but the reality is that there are plenty of people that would capitalize on your success if given the chance. They could sell trade secrets, undermine your business from within, or even commit crime against you. This is the reality of business, and something I always remind myself of.

When it comes to starting up a business, you don't always have to be the first person, you just have to do it better then everyone else.

You might have a great idea, something no one else is doing and there is a strong demand in the market for it, but it means nothing if someone else does it better. Your great idea could lead to success if executed correctly, but if done poorly, it could also allow others to capitalize on your idea. There are plenty of business startups that failed not because their idea was bad, but because a competitor new how to do it better.

That being said, if you have a skill in an industry thats already been done, don't feel defeated. Learning who your competition is allows you to stay ahead in the market, and give you opportunities to capitalize in areas that others are not. A good example is like this:

I am starting a 3D printing company near Tacoma that specializes in education. 3D printing is not a new concept and there are plenty of people talking about it. When researching competitors, I found that there are a few good 3D printing companies already in my county. Some of the competition around me is FabLab due to their strong educational presence, Nerd Ally due to their resin printing expertise, and ProtoSpyre because of their strong modeling capabilities. 

At first you might feel intimidated by their already strong presence, but keep in mind that there is opportunity in their failures (or lack of ability they posses). For example, FabLab is purely educational, and their website is a bit confusing to navigate. It also seems like they are leaning more towards coding now than 3D printing. Nerd Ally has very nice resin prints, but they dont provide educational services to consumers. ProtoSpyre is an online based company with no store front, they have a good team of 3D modelers but they lack the ability to provide experience to consumers. 

These companies do well for what they are, but there are aspects that you could capitalize on if you research your competition and find the gaps in demand. Do your research, look into competitors, and you can stay ahead in your market.

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