Focus on Being the Best, Not First

Apple wasn't the first to create to tablet.

Nike didn't invent the shoe.

Disneyland wasn't the first amusement park.

Yet the one thing they have in common is they're the best at improving an existing idea.

As an entrepreneur, it's much harder to be the creator than it is the refiner. Let me give you a personal example:

When I first started my business as a coach, I had to "double sell." That means on top of trying to get a potential customer buy my services, I had to explain what my services were. I spent more time educating people what I did then once they understood I had to convince them that they needed what I was offering. I'm not the first coach, but since coaching isn't mainstream the odds are stacked against me.

When you improve an existing idea, context is in your favor. People need a starting point to make a decision because that's how your mind works. Your brain builds on what it already knows. That's why commercials play over and over again - to brainwash you into thinking you actually need what you're seeing. 

So if you're thinking of starting a business, start with the end in mind. What are your sales goals? What is your financial model? How are you going to get people to buy your product/service?

Competition isn't easy to deal with, but being a pioneer is that much harder.