That Business Has Already Been Done

I hear this one a lot, the complaint that to start a business you must do something new or different. BS.

One person I know told me of their concept for a business but reeled back on it when they discovered someone already created a similar business. So what? Who said there wasn’t room for another business to do the same thing? Who said it had to be different to succeed?

Plenty of butchers exist yet people still open butcher shops.

Humans have consumed bread for 1000’s of years but new bakeries still open.

Clothes aren’t a new concept yet new brands pop up everyday.

Sure you can do something different and come up with a new concept, power to you! However, to claim another business already sells the same products or offers the same services so it invalidates your potential to start a business is folly. Folly I say!

I almost shiver every time I hear someone overuse the word innovation, not because I disagree with the concept but instead its misuse and forceful behaviour. It pushes this odd agenda that you must innovate or be… dare I say it… entre.. oh god… entrepre… here it comes……… entrepreneurial, save me! Damned this word, I know very few business owners that use this word, instead they just call themselves business owners. They run businesses not draw ideas on pieces of paper.

To recalibrate so we’re on the same page: I am not against innovation, entrepreneurship or creating something new or different. I am against those that sell this concept that you must innovate or possess entrepreneurial spirit to create a new business. That it must be different. No! You can start a business anytime, any place, and in any field, even if another business already does the same thing. With the right principles, willingness to learn, curiosity, and gusto, you can definitely give it a red hot go.

Preying on the Beginners

In recent times snake oil sales people pop up everywhere when someone begins their online research to start a business. The internet harbours these frauds and unfortunately as soon as you search a few key terms online then Google, Facebook, YouTube, or other hyper targeting ad companies start their process to bombard you with endless advertisements of people who promise to help you start a business.

It happens to me when I search for a few things related to my business. One search on Google and then BOOM!!!

• “I’ll show you the best product to sell to make you money”
• “How to triple your businesses bottom line”
• “Start a business with $0, an entrepreneurs manual”
• “How I made millions of dollars on Shopify”
• “I’m rich, you suck, become me, I’ll show you how”

These people prey on beginners, it makes me sick.

Do you still think it’s not possible to start a business that’s not innovative or entrepreneurial? Well, I challenge you to go out into the streets and speak with some local businesses, talk with the owners and ask them how they started.

If you are new to business and stumbled upon my article then I hope I provided enough information to demonstrate my point. Don’t worry about these terms innovation and entrepreneurship, you can start a business that already does something that’s existed for millennia.