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Competition for business products or services of any kind is a given. In Hometown, USA you may not have competitors for what you sell; but on the Internet, the world is your market and you will have to learn to compete . . . or die!
Times are changing and every solo business owner needs to design his little company in a way that it can be globally competitive, regionally competitive, and even locally competitive.
Before the Internet, it was often sufficient that a small business only worried about the competition down the street, in a neighboring town, or within a short drive.
You owned a gift shop and your customer pool was everyone within walking distance, or easy driving distance, probably within the radius of your community and maybe a few other small towns within 25 miles.
If you could compete with the other gift sellers locally you probably did OK! Folks knew who you were, what you had to offer, and that they would find what they needed in your shop at a reasonable price.
But increasingly, customers now begin their search for a purchase online.
That simple gift that they used to shop for locally could now be purchased online from the convenience of their own home, without the travel, traffic congestion, time taken, gasoline spent, and probably at a discounted price.
Not only that, but the gift can be shipped directly from the online retailer to Aunt Hilda and she'll receive it, gift wrapped, with a personal note from you at her doorstep the day after tomorrow.
You don't have to pay sales tax on the gift, bring it home to wrap it, pack it up for shipping, and take it to the UPS drop off point yourself.
All of a sudden, it is incumbent upon you to try to compete with every other globally-focused gift shop online.
Yes, you can ignore this change in the way business is done these days. You can go on doing business as you've always do it.
Or you can make a few easy changes in the way you look at your business. You can refocus your efforts to identify how you too can compete globally. It's not difficult.
The longer you wait, the more business you'll lose. Eventually you'll be scratching your head wondering why your business doesn't produce like "the good old days!"
