My new sushi restaurant (and a lesson)

We live in a suburb of Tampa, Florida. It used to be a fairly quaint area with farms and a few neighborhoods. But, then it grew up. Alot.

For awhile there, we didn’t really have any good restaurants close by. I mean, Ruby Tuesdays was the nicest place in the area (and that’s sayin’ something). It was a big deal when Applebees showed up. You get the idea. 😉

But, then we got a sushi place.

I freakin’ love sushi. Used to hate it. Used to wig out at the idea of raw fish. But, then tried it again in and now I love it. I even make it at home sometimes. So, this new sushi joint was pretty awesome in my world.

But, then another one opened…

So, another sushi place opened up. And get this…

It was right across the street. 

Now, the two places aren’t totally identical. The original one has a hibachi grill in there where they cook right in front of you table-side. It also has a nice modern look to the place. You would think they’d just dominate the area, but….

No.

The new one is actually not as modern looking. They do have a bigger menu. Both places serve mostly the same kind of stuff and the prices are on par.

But, this new one got business. I’ve eaten in there a couple times and they’re doing just fine. And the old one… they’re doing fine, too.

Right across the street from each other. Serving the same market. Just a bit of a different twist in how they do it.

Now, isn’t this kind of how things work in our online businesses, too?

I mean, almost any blog or business idea you may have, there is somebody else doing it, too. In fact, probably a lot of them.

If it’s a good niche, there will be a lot of players. If nobody is doing it, then it probably means nobody gives a crap.

But, I see people get wigged out over the presence of “competition” all the time in online business. They play mind jobs on themselves wondering how they can possibly stand out.

But, again, that sushi joint. I mean, they pretty much do the same thing. Right across the street! Yet, it works.

That’s because….

1. They were serving a market which WANTS what they’ve got.
2. They did it just a wee bit differently enough to not be copying.

The more important point there is that they were serving a demand.

If you are serving a market who WANTS what you’re doing, it doesn’t matter if there’s competition.

Your product doesn’t even have to be better. I mean, if it is, it’ll make your job easier. But, it isn’t needed. Our second sushi place isn’t exactly making sushi which is better than the other one. There’s really no distinguishable difference.

If the owner of that place wrote off the idea because we already had a sushi restaurant in town, they would have lost out on a major opportunity.

So, are you worried that you can’t stand out in a market? Are you worried about competition?

Don’t be.

If the market is hungry, you can make a dent. Just serve them well and get the word out. People will make their way.

It is a matter of being willing to do what most aren’t (and most just aren’t willing to do the basics, so you’ve already got an edge if you do that).

You got this.

– David