Exploit your competitive advantages

Life isn’t fair.
Neither is competition.
You can compete ethically . . . or in some other way.
You'll sleep better.
I recommend ethically . . . but ask no quarter.
Believe me, your competition will give you none.

Here’s an example of what I mean.
A friend of ours is an early riser.
She’s usually at the gym early every morning.
Seven days a week, 350 or more days a year.
It is a habit that took time to develop.
Now she enjoys it. Feels guilty if she misses a day.
She smiles throughout her workout.
That releases endorphins into her blood stream.
The endorphins give her a “runner’s high”.
Smile at whatever you do and feel the same high.

The other morning she stopped at a grocer's.
The store doesn’t open until 7 a.m.
She was unwilling to wait 35 minutes.
She drove to a nearby competing grocer.
This one didn’t open until 7 either.
They were satisfied with opening at 7.
They both lost her business that day.
She shopped for what she needed near her office.

This reminded me of a story.
The only dry cleaner in town opened at 8 a.m.
A young entrepreneur spotted an opportunity.
He parked outside the dry cleaner one morning.
By 8 a.m. a dozen people stopped but left.
They had clothes to be cleaned. No luck.
That evening, the cleaner closed at 5:30.
The entrepreneur parked outside to watch.
More than a dozen people stopped to make a pickup.
They went home without their cleaning.
The entrepreneur rented space across the street.
He opened at 6:30 and closed at 6:30.
Guess how uch business he picked up?
He exploited a competitive advantage.

This week’s Strategic Challenge
What needs or wants does your competition ignore?
How could you take care of those needs or wants?
Is it worth the effort to exploit them?
Not all needs and wants can be satisfied.
And not all of them can be profitable.
But I’ll bet there are some that are.
Think what this could do for your bottom line.
Talk it over with your team at work.
Your colleagues may see things that you missed.This is one way you can ethically compete.

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