In this time of the resurgence of our faithful servant Soulja Boy, I’m dropping this quick note before I head to the gym. I have my earbuds in my pocket already (and I could lose them any second) so I’m going to speed through this bad boy!
Here we go:
A frequent message I receive on Facebook often follows a similar pattern:
“Hey Ro, I thought up with this brilliant business idea and I already checked and no one else is doing it! Can I run it by you?”
My good people, in all their enthusiasm, as they hit send on this message:
And me, when I receive this message:
Truly, I love y’all, but…
This post will explain why incredible ideas with no competition are very often weak sauce! In my option, at least.
= HEAR ME OUT! =
Many of us have dedicated numerous years attempting to devise a magical idea with “zero competition.” We’re so invested in the concept that just reading this post may feel like me saying that your grandma’s cooking sucks (sorry, Grandma!). I’m sure it’s great, really.
So before you block me, hear me out…
= BIKINI SHOPS IN ANTARCTICA! =
No competition, you say?
That’s just a lighthearted example I concocted to illustrate one end of the spectrum. Obviously, it’s perfect. There’s ZERO competition! Shoot, you can get set up and not have another bikini shop for thousands of miles. Win!
Well it’s not actually a win at all because…
ZERO competition typically equals ZERO customers.
It’s counterintuitive because education and “common sense” messed us up.
But think about it. For “zero competition” to indicate there is some massive opportunity, two things need to be true:
1.) No other person on the face of the planet has thought of this idea and you’re a freaking absolute genius.
-OR-
2) It’s actually not a great business idea.
If you ask me, one of these options seems far more likely to be the case. 
When there is really huge opportunity, it’s highly likely the competition is already there, making bank. And that (despite how it feels to you) is a GOOD thing.
Now let’s look at the other end of the spectrum:
= GAS STATIONS =
So. Much. Competition!
Sometimes you see a big intersection with four gas stations on all fours corners of the street. You can literally look out of the window and see your competition looking back at you! And everyone is making a profit.
That makes sense, right? The kinds of businesses I’ve found to be the most successful look like so:
A TON of competition = A TON of customers SPENDING MONEY.
These two things naturally go together. And this is where I prefer to be.
As soon as I figured this out, I started winning because I solved:
1.) Feeling the pressure to devise a sophisticated and fancy idea. There’s no need when I can see the idea already implemented around me with tons of competition and tons of customers available.
-AND-
2.) The need to validate that particular idea (it’s already validated for me, and it’s no fluke because I see it working over and over again for multiple people).
So with this mental adjustment, I removed the uncertainty of entering a saturated market, and just stripped things down to one single need:
Execution! (And oddly enough, your competition helps with this part, too!)
= Tough Pill to Swallow =
I know not everybody is going to be thrilled to hear this advice. I get it – being wary of competition feels right.
But if you’re new to the arena, you can drastically improve your chances of succeeding if you trust me on this one.
I’ll leave you with this: (and I’ve been saying it since Soulja Boy dropped Crank That…)
Want to increase your chances of building a thing that wins?
1.) Look at businesses that work. Do that first.
2.) Believe that competition is a good thing. You should be most excited when there is a healthy amount of competition and those folks are thriving.
3.) Build gas stations! Not bikini shops in Antarctica.
And that’s it.
No matter what market you enter, you’re going to encounter some… let’s just say… interesting customers. But that’s a story for another day! 
