Let me set the scene….

You've spent hours and hours thinking about starting a business & brainstorming business ideas. 

You’ve finally thought of a problem that you could solve & you’ve come up with a business idea which is the perfect fit for you.

You’ve then opened up your laptop, done a quick Google search and your heart breaks. 

You’ve discovered there is already another person doing the exact same thing!

You’ve closed your laptop in disappointment (& a little frustration) and resided yourself to trying to think of a different business idea.

Let’s rewind a minute….

You’ve discovered there is already another person doing the exact same thing. Does this mean you need to bin your idea and create something else?

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Absolutely not.... There are lots of businesses which do the exact same thing as each other. 

You can take supermarkets, restaurants & coffee shops as very basic examples but there are business starting ALL the time which are in direct competition with one another. The fact that there is already a load of shelves filled with protein products in supermarkets isn’t stopping ANYONE from starting another business which also sells protein products. Why are you any different?

You aren’t but you’ve got a mindset (like I previously had) that you need to be doing something new, niche & totally different to everyone else to find customers. 

This is partly true but you can still do something which is similar to an existing business. 

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You’re probably now wondering (again like I previously had) how do businesses which are doing similar things to each other survive? 

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They survive because the market is large enough for them all to find customers.

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It really doesn't matter if there are other businesses doing the same thing as your business, provided the market size is large enough for you to enter the space & find your own customers.

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You could do this by focusing your business on a specific niche of customer types or finding another USP which makes your business stand out from others.

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It really doesn't mean you need to change your idea & I would actually argue that finding another business which already does the same thing (or something similar) to your business idea is a really good sign... It means there is a market & demand for your product/service. 

It’s arguably much much more risky starting a “first-to-market” business idea where there isn’t already a business providing a form of solution to the problem your business solves. 

Why? 

This might mean that people don’t even consider the problem a problem or don’t even realise there is a solution available (so don’t actively look for one). This can sometimes make it harder to find your target customer & convert them into paying customers as they might not appreciate the value your business provides! 

Taking things back to the business idea you had but dismissed because someone else is already doing the same thing....

Please don't dismiss a business idea that you think would be the perfect fit for you, just because there is already a competitor (or multiple). There are LOTS of ways you can differentiate yourself and if you're not sure how to do this please just send me an email.

Did you know I offer 1:1 coaching to help others make changes in their lives? This can be related to careers, starting a business or forming healthier habits. Please just send me an email directly to elle@gabrielletodd.com if this is something you feel you would benefit from & would like to learn more about.