Using Comparison to Flourish

If you're a creative person with internet access (oh hey, everyone), you're probably familiar with a web activity I like to call "The Black Hole of Inferiority". As post-apocolyptic as it sounds, the name is accurate in that it describes a similarly end-of-the-world feeling that only happens you find them. Yes, them.

That person or company doing sort of what you're doing only 1000x better and faster and cooler and are making like 5x as much money as your net worth if you got caught giving Kim Kardashian a high-five by the paparazzi. You know the ones.

As you click through all of their flashy web links, scrolling through their stunning portfolio and countless client recommendations, you start to feel your chair slowly creeping through the floorboards into a bottomless black abyss. It's deep stuff. But hey, there's good news.

You can learn to use comparison as a tool to grow your business in exciting, uncharted ways.

It seems foolish to start a business without first chalking up the competition, yet so often we as creatives keep a one-track mind and steer clear of similar mindsets as to not be diluted or distracted. Yet, whenever we stumble across someone who's painting close within our lines, we have a freak-out and head full force down the spiraling staircase of fear and insecurity.

Staircases, black holes... There must be a 'Monday' nearby.

Here's the thing: if you find yourself in this position, consider yourself lucky. Ignorance isn't bliss when it comes to your business, and knowing who you're up against - or who you can collaborate with in the future - is only going to make you stronger and more adaptable.

To help us view each and every competitor as "industry research" and not "reason to binge on donuts and wine", Caty and I came up with the Competitor Analysis Worksheet. Each competing company or brand is dissected into basic categories so that you can clearly see what makes them tick (and you cry). 

This exercise is 1000x more effective when we run through it together over coffee. Why don't you reach out and we can check our schedule?

Mark Twain might have said "Comparison is the death of joy", but he clearly wasn't equipped with our Competitor Analysis Worksheet and a good dose of #realtalk. 

Once you've filled it out, really spend some time dwelling on what struck you at first glance and how you can replicate that same feeling with your own consumer experience.

It's not about copying. It's about learning what works from people who have succeeded and implementing those successes into your own business.

It's called being smart; no need to reinvent the wheel. Download our Competitor Analysis Worksheet and drop us a line below if it helped.

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