As a small business owner, I know the challenges of service delivery, marketing, strategy, and of course invoicing and billing. That alone takes way more than 40 hours a week. I’ve learned that the best way to make a profit is to go full speed and market and deliver as much as possible.
I have lots of competitors in my field, all over the country but certainly plentiful in places like New York, Washington DC, and Boston. Lots of people know how to develop strategy, fix processes, diagnose problems, and provide management training. That doesn’t bother me. Why? Because over time I’ve learned to operate from the perspective of abundance.
Abundance means that there is more than enough work for everyone. Not only do you have 50 states to compete in, you also have the rest of the world. There isn’t just one niche in my business, there are many. Anyone can, with the right skills and experience, make a living in my field. There is truly more opportunity than there are providers.
But I think I’m one of the few who view the world this way. In my experience, more people in my field view the world through the lens of scarcity. Scarcity means that there is only a small amount of work that needs to be won by battling other companies and consultants for it. When you operate from the perspective of scarcity, your behaviors change. Here are some of the common symptoms of people operating from scarcity:
- Making yourself and your company and services the prime topic of conversation at any networking meeting.
- Piling on every possible credential by your name on your LinkedIn profile, business cards, and website i.e. Ben Dover, MA, PCC, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, PMP, PhD (ABD)
- Always telling everyone you’re super busy and booked (when you really aren’t) but then jumping on every piece of work offered even if it’s cheap work.
- Bragging on your LinkedIn page that you’re “honored to be speaking at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Sanitation Engineers.” (We know this is simply a lame attempt to market yourself)
- Shoving business cards in everyone’s face.
- Undercutting other businesses and consultants over projects.
- Accusing other consultants and businesses of infringing on your territory, brands, ideas, and information.
The interesting fact is that each of the above behaviors does absolutely nothing to generate more clients and more business. Ironically, the very thing that fixes a scarcity problem is generating more business, which means less bragging and whining and more cold calls, blog posts, lunch and learns, and networking.
A long time ago I read a book called Blue Ocean Strategy. It talked about getting away from areas where there is red ocean (churning from too many businesses competing for a small amount of work) and moving towards the blue ocean, where there is more work than there are providers. That’s why I believe in abundance.
This week, if you’ve been operating from the principle of scarcity, why not consider the following:
- Quit looking at what others are doing and focus on getting customers.
- Stop whining about the competition in your space and get out and look for new territory and markets.
- Cease the selfishness and reach out to help others.
And when you’ve done this, put the principle of abundance to work by sharing experience, techniques, resources, and ideas. Mentor other inexperienced consultants and business owners. Compete harder than you ever have, but make that competition be with yourself. Push yourself to work harder rather than undercut your competitors.
This principle has worked for me (and trust me, I’ve been screwed a couple times by scarcity-mongers) and I know it will for you too.