Fearing Competition Or Embracing Partners?

I can be very competitive. Just challenge me to a game of Monopoly or Scrabble and you may find out just how competitive. However, one does not need to be on the offensive all the time and I often find too much competitive attitude to be a hindrance in running a business.

Jim Messner is not afraid of competition. As a real estate agent he founded the Calgary Business Network and ran all of the meetings in an open come-as-you-are format. He used to tell me that when other realtors came he was not threatened. He knew his market, he knew his unique offering, and he knew there was more than enough to go around. The way they ran each meeting everyone had ample time to talk but there was limited time to get through the whole crowd. So he would meet some contacts and some of the other realtors would make some connections. He never considered it a waste of time if there was 3 people and he was not intimidated if there were 40 people who already had agents. Jim is secure as a human being and secure as a real estate agent.

In social media I have never been threatened by other social media operations. Recently I was at an event and was asked about my sm competition to which I replied, “I don’t have any competitors.” I think it came off as a little high and mighty which was not my intent. It was actually the gut level response that came out of my mouth. I know what most other social media companies offer. I believe in a lot of what they do, but I don’t do most of what they do. In fact, they should see me as an ally because I would rather refer them that business than to work on what I am not good at and my team is not equipped to deliver. Our service is unique, our price-point is high. There are certain tasks that we delight in and others that we farm out or simply give away.

The other day I met a web designer who said the same thing. He used to do everything but found much of it took his time and resources and it was not what he enjoyed. So he began to specialize. His niche got a little tighter and his price got higher but he was able to deliver something unique to a particular group of people. He was not afraid of competition and even wanted me to possibly bring another web designer into the weekly networking group so he could give him all of the projects that were not his “thing.”

Interestingly big thinkers are seldom worried about competition. They observe competition and they learn from competition. They save money on their own research and web development by looking over their competitors who spent all of the money on it. They have already learned that pioneers stay broke. Going through rough ground and being the first may get you recognized years later but in the beginning it is just plain hard work. It is a lot easier to follow in the path of another and learn from their mistakes. When one has this thinking, nobody is really a competitor. They are all mentors, friends, associates and  allies, and even if we thought someone was our competition we would be more tempted to have them close so we could watch them rather than snub them.

Being afraid of competition closes doors. Instead of asking “how can we work together?” We are moving away. Instead of learning something new and taking tips we are wanting to be the one giving tips and we are comparing our performance with theirs all the while jealous they had the opportunity when it should have been us. We miss opportunities to take on specialized parts of a larger project. We don’t realize that this person may include us simply because they don’t have the time or it is not something they enjoy. They may even be looking for a partner in a project and that partnership could propel us to a stardom of our own if we just embrace the possibilities. If we hang around awhile we may even end up owning the company just because nobody else showed an interest or had the talent and the willingness to take the job.

When Jim Messner asked me to look after the email marketing for the CBN I did it for free. I saw the potential. I had no idea how far it would go or how big it would be. Maybe I still don’t. I was not threatened that there was someone else looking after his website. I didn’t do websites. I was not concerned that someone did his social media and he was pretty savvy all on his own. I did not do what they did. I still don’t. What I did do was partnerships. I did focus on what I was good at. I did stick with it. Two years later Jim has gone to work with NASCAR and I run the CBN. The web designer is still a good friend but has moved on to other projects. Social media is wide open and I own a social media company that doesn’t do some of the things we need done. Do you know what is weird though? Nobody wants to offer to do it because they are afraid we are their competitors. Strange…

Funny thing. Sometimes I have offered partnerships with people and they did not get it. They were worried we would promote our own company and not give them any business.Maybe they were unable or unwilling to commit the money or the time to the project. They were easily upset when someone else was promoted and never asked if that courtesy could be extended to them. They came and they went fading away into the night. Some though saw the bigger picture and figured out how to contribute for the common good. We will build a future with those ones. Together we are stronger.

We are proud of our partners. We are looking for more partners. Don’t assume because we already have one in that arena that the door is closed. There is a lot to be done and we are all unique.

Bob Francis is a business partner of mine. He invested money into the network so we could make it larger. He is a contributor in every way, often attending CIBN meetings and bringing new members and picking up the slack when I drop the ball. He has a jewelrybusiness that offers Canadian made luxury jewelry, designer purses and spectacular celebration time pieces. We are looking for others who believe in us and want to invest. The returns are awesome!

Allan Fine is a business partner of mine. He saw the big picture. He loves to train people on social media and basic web enhancements and he brings a lot of value to the organization through our seminar events. Allan offered to give us a lot of help for our new CIBN website. We needed a lot of help and still could use more but having someone on board who understands how to rank high on Google and how to promote an event was critical to our ongoing success. The value of his work is astronomical. He is always looking for better ways for us to market ourselves online and even though he does some social media he is not a competitor. He is an ally. We could use other allies. There is a lot to be done.

Nagui Bihelek is a business coach and not just any coach. Nagui is with Business Edge Coaching and a representative of Action Coach. He has built a powerful association of professional coaches who make a difference in the lives of small to large businesses in the Calgary market. He is sought after for his expertise and considered one of the best in the industry. We are particularly honored to have him and his team speak into our lives and we often use their facility and share their valuable events with our members. They have reciprocated by offering fantastic savings sometimes as high as 50% to our organization.

Dorothy Briggs is the publisher of Womanition and Vavasaur Magazines. She is a powerful speaker, a great leader and a personal friend. Dorothy should be a partner to everyone I know. Click here to find out why. We have some great 2 page features coming out in the next editions of these magazines. We are always open to partnerships with media of all kinds but Dorothy is the kind of partner that puts a sparkle into all of our business interactions. She is a class act that gets things done and a powerful connection to have.

Zechariah James is a professional networker. He looks after everything that I don’t have the time for and he is the security plan for the entire network. Zechariah is my son and heir. He is there to learn everything that he can about the groups, bring new members, offer referrals and oversee operations. If anything ever happened to me we have made sure that you our members, and our investors are looked after. He is the succession plan for the next generation and he keeps us sharp as we expand so that we are always thinking of what young entrepreneurs would be attracted to.

These are just a few of our partners, affiliates and friends that we do business with on a variety of levels. None of them are absolutely perfect and neither am I but all of us have strengths that the others can benefit from. Together we are stronger and we get a lot more done.

Currently we are looking particularly for an event planner and a radio station that wants a strategic alliance. It could be very profitable in the long term.

Always Loyal2U,

Kerry

403-397-1909