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It's Sue.

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And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.

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These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and

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things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.

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If you'd like to submit a topic,

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DME, over on Instagram at gift biz,

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unwrapped competition is moving in now,

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what do you do?

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I was inspired with talking about this because Wendy in gift

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biz breeze,

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which is my private Facebook group,

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where we all get together as gifters bakers,

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crafters makers talk about business things.

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If you're not there and you want to join us,

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feel free to do so.

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We'd love to have you there.

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She brought up a point of concern this week in that

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somebody who is in her industry is moving into the area.

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So she's going through all of these emotions,

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all of these thoughts that would be natural and typical.

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If you have a competitor who's moving in.

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And so what do you do about this?

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So Wendy,

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although I'm going to be talking directly to you,

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I'm really talking to all of us because let's face it.

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No matter what you make,

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there will be people who make a similar thing.

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So you would call them a competitor.

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But what happens if they come right into your area,

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you feel like your battling for the local attention.

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And not only that,

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there's a little extra layer that Wendy talks about here in

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that all the profits of sales go to a charity.

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So she's feeling already like,

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oh my gosh,

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this company could potentially be so much better than me.

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Cause that's the automatic place that we jumped to,

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right? Competitor comes in there better.

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Why do we do that to ourselves?

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I'm not exactly sure,

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but let's talk through what to do about this.

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Not only when you're facing a situation,

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but then in the future so that these situations don't feel

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so insurmountable.

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The first thing to do is take a deep breath and

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try and get your emotions in check because that's the automatic

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default, the anxiety,

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the racing heart.

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When you find this out,

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the gasp in your throat,

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like, oh my gosh,

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how am I going to compete?

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So the first thing is getting control of your emotions and

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just get yourself in check and say,

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okay, this is a situation now what I'm going to do

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about it.

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So that's the very first thing.

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Second thing is,

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is to go on a path of discovery.

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You know,

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how they always talk when there's a court case coming up

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that there's time for exploration and discovery before a case even

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starts, this is what you will want to do.

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Find out more about who's coming into the area.

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So you really understand truly what's happening.

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Not what your mind is telling you about that that person

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is going to be so much better,

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but uncover what's happening.

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That means who are the owners?

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Have they been making this product before?

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Or are they brand new?

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What is this?

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Cause I was just telling you that Wendy's very,

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very concerned about the fact that the profits are going to

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go to a local charity.

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So what is the cause?

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Is it a time bound type of a cause?

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Or is it an ongoing cause then look at the product.

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How is the product similar,

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different, maybe attracts a different audience than your product does all

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that type of thing.

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So what can you find out about them?

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And then also price.

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Now none of this I might say is for you to

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discover all of this so that you can match it.

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Absolutely never do that.

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That's the wrong move.

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Don't totally readjust your whole company to match a competitor and

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be lower priced,

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also doing a charity to match what they're doing.

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There's a saying that is Sally Hogshead.

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Different is better than better as a business owner.

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You're much stronger if your product and your company is different,

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not better than another person's company.

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Also experience you have personality in terms of how you show

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up on mine,

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all of that.

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You want to be different.

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You never want to try and match an absolutely not undercut

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price. And I want you to think about this as a

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big puzzle.

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It's a game and come into it strategically.

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How am I going to put this puzzle together?

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And then what is the picture going to look like at

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the end?

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So you uncover all this information about owner's experience,

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the product,

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the price,

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the charity,

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how their market getting to understand and put together the pieces

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of the puzzle of your competitor.

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So you have a realistic view,

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not this emotional view that they're going to be better than

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you. And then what you want to do is determine where

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things are different,

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right? Cause different,

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better than better,

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and get really solid in what you offer.

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Where are some differences?

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Do your bath and body products tend to be used more

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by a certain area of the population than others.

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Are they more for moms with babies?

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Are they more for people who live in a certain area

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of the country where their skin needs to be pampered in

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a different way?

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You know,

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maybe your audiences are already a little different.

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Do you use different products?

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Okay. So maybe your products are coconut oil based and theirs

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are different.

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I don't know all the ingredients of bath and body.

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So I can't go into that.

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And then what you want to do is call out those

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differences and those strengths and be known for the things that

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you do.

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And you know what I'm going to say to you too.

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It's okay.

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If you're higher priced,

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you don't have to call out the fact that you're higher

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priced, but call out the quality and what your product provides

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that is different than other people in the market.

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This is the approach to making sure that people know you.

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I know your business.

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I'll also say,

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and I think you'll understand this.

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When I say it,

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having a competitor come in your market can actually call additional

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attention to your whole industry.

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You know,

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social media advertising.

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If they have a brick and mortar shop,

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any of that,

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that's calling attention to your history and to those products.

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And you can play on that as well.

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Now here is what's going on.

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Oh, for sure.

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Absolutely. For sure.

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And it's natural.

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So expect it.

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When a competitor comes into the market,

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your customers are going to try it out.

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If you have people who have been at your craft show

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for a long time,

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they're going to walk by that other booth.

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And there will be a portion who will be tempted and

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interested in trying out another,

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the product it's okay.

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It's all right.

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It's natural.

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It's going to happen.

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This is when all of the systems that you've put in

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place and the personality I park on this hallway.

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It's time that you've been sharing who you are.

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You are what your business stands for.

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Why you started that whole deep,

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personal connection where people really attach to you.

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This is,

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is why that's so important.

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Because even if they try someone else,

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they're going to come back to you.

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I love bath and body products.

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A lot of you guys know that I am a supporter

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of Chino with Lula's bath and bombs.

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Her body scrubs are to die for.

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Does that mean that I don't use any other body scrubs

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ever? No.

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I mean,

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I use lots of body scrubs.

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I love it.

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That whole product.

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I don't always wear the same earrings.

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I don't always even wear the same one makeup line for

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that matter.

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I like to try things new.

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And then ultimately I kind of go back to what I

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liked the best.

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So don't worry about that.

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But the point is developing this deep connection and deep relationship.

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That's going to keep people with you then finally,

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and I've already been talking about this a little bit already.

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This is the reason why I'm going not.

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When all of a sudden there's a competitor in your market,

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do you start this?

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You want to start this.

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If you haven't already today getting your audience,

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the followers who support your business,

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people who are attracted to you because they're finding you with

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all the different things you're doing along the social media craft

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shows, farmer's markets,

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networking, all of that.

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Once you've gotten them into your sphere,

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you need to personalize it for them.

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This is something different for us as small businesses versus the

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big brands.

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The big brands are spending millions of dollars to get their

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name out there.

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And the connection is with the brand,

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the name as a small business,

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I will suggest that our connection is by us as human

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beings. One-on-one small businesses relationships.

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So how do you do that?

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You tell your story,

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you talk about how you've gotten into the business.

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Why making,

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what you make is so dear to you,

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what are the benefits of using your product?

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Why does your or product stand out and is superior for

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the qualities of what you put in,

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whether it's the ingredients,

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you know,

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there's all different types of things that add value to your

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product, right?

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And then the other thing that nobody else can duplicate,

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not one single person is you your personality by going online,

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being at shows where you're showing up as you in front

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of your audience and your customers,

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this is the best and biggest way you can differentiate yourself

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because nobody else can be the authentic you and stay with

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me as we go forward with my podcasts,

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because I have a really exciting episode,

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I actually was just editing it this morning,

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running through the final edit that will help you with being

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confident with the real authentic you.

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And it's not what you've heard before.

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It's a whole brand new thing.

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So I'm excited to tell you about that.

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I'd like to end here with one other point,

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and that is the thinking that there is abundance out there

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in the world.

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Think of how many people Wendy need bath and body products.

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You're not going to attract every single one of them,

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but are certainly enough people in the market.

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And in your communities online for you to be able to

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grow and support a stable business.

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It's not like if one person goes to their competitor,

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that's the point of focus for you right now that there's

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not another customer out there for you,

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or that you've lost that customer forever.

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They could never be yours.

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You both could have very solid businesses and not having one

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duplicate customer.

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So when you start to get into that mindset,

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everything feels like it starts to calm down.

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There is enough out there for all of us.

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So hopefully that gives you some peace.

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I want you Andy to go back right now and start

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putting that puzzle piece together.

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You're in discovery fact finding mode about who this is,

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who's coming in and to the market.

270
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You don't need to match what they're doing.

271
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You need to understand what they're doing,

272
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see how you are positioned differently.

273
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Talk to your strengths.

274
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Okay? When a competitor comes in,

275
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ruffles our feathers and makes us all anxious,

276
00:12:06,430 --> 00:12:10,210
and that heartbeat raises through the roof and you feel you're

277
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doomed. I mean,

278
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cause we get dramatic like that.

279
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Don't we,

280
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we need to just breathe and remember that it's up to

281
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us to do the right work.

282
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So we received the orders that we deserve.

283
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And by doing that regularly throughout our business,

284
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all the way along when a competitor comes in,

285
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it's not as jolting because you've been doing the right work

286
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:34,630
all along.

287
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That's a wrap.

288
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I'm a get to the point kind of girl.

289
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And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek

290
00:12:43,450 --> 00:12:48,520
sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream

291
00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:49,270
of yours.

292
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Share your handmade products with us.

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We want them and they bring us both so much happiness.