Don’t Bother Competing
Posted on 14 July 2011
This isn’t a hard and fast rule, just a strong suggestion that’ll save you lots of headaches and time. Don’t compete in ways where the competition is overwhelming or your competition can destroy you on price.
For example, if you’re considering starting a new business in the US, would you consider starting a new customer service call center business from scratch? Would you think it’s a good idea to manufacture umbrellas stateside? Do you think you could run a business based on volume post-processing of images in Photoshop? — All of these things are being outsourced successfully from the US to overseas suppliers and the costs make US start-ups in these fields a suicide mission.
So what’s the takeaway from this? Two things. One is obvious and the other one is less so. 1) Find or invent an unique niche and market to that niche’s potential customers; and, 2) Consider outsourcing to places that can do it cheaper. Even if you’re a one-person operation and I’m even talking about your Photoshop volume work.
I own a lawn mower and could easily mow my own lawn. It would save me money. But my lawn guy has a fast rider and does everything in 1/4th of the time I could. And if I just spend my normal mowing time on my business instead, it makes me more money than I could save by mowing my own yard.
I ran into the exact same situation recently when I was talking with a well-known photographer, author and trainer. (No it’s not Scott, Matt, or anybody who even lives here in Florida.) He told me that he sends out volumes of his images to have models expertly cut from their background for $2 or $3 per image. After a day of shooting, he emails dozens and dozens of images of models to his Photoshop service bureau overseas, and when he wakes up in the morning, he has all of the images back on his computer with layer masks that knock the model off the background. And this guy is a Photoshop trainer!!! He told me that the work gets done far faster than he ever could do it, it’s done while he sleeps, and it’s amazingly affordable. And if you consider that the people creating these layer masks for him do dozens or hundreds each day, they have far more experience than even the best Photoshop experts out there.
Does that mean you shouldn’t ever do your own Photoshop editing (or mow your own lawn)? Heck no! But do what makes sense and don’t waste time competing with people and companies you can never beat. Be unique in your offerings or maybe even consider using these volume outside resources yourself if your work volume is sufficient, so you can focus on alternate profit centers or unique marketing angles.
DISCLAIMER: In spite of the title, I’m not really suggesting that you don’t bother competing. However, you should look for a way to provide something unique if you plan to compete in a saturated market. Doing something that someone else is already doing cheaper and faster and in volume, even if they’re in a different country, usually leads to failure. You have to do it brilliantly or somehow bring something unique to the table in order to compete. Regardless of how you feel about outsourcing, especially outside your country’s borders, this is the current state of the world and (based on an email I got from someone who apparently wishes things were different) you might be angry at my suppositions but I believe that anger is missing the target. I don’t make the rules. I’m simply trying to help people understand their competition and how to remain competitive in a challenging economy.
10 responses to Don’t Bother Competing
I use a similar service, especially around the holidays when I am doing a lot of composite work for clients.It makes a difference and is totally worth it.
Well said Larry. Time is my most valuable resource. If I could find a way to add an hour or two to each day that would be of huge benefit. Outsourcing can give me that extra hour or two every day I outsource.
Do you have the name of the photoshop service overseas? Maybe I can get my photoshop training cheaper from them than kelby training and Napp.
Phil-
Very funny. They don’t do Photoshop training… But seriously, Photoshop training for less than $99 a year? I suppose you could watch the various free Photoshop YouTube videos but you get what you pay for. And they don’t come with a magazine, Photoshop tech support, industry discounts, member portfolios and forums, etc. (Sorry for the mini-commercial.)
— Oh, and http://www.clippingfactory.com has been an advertiser in our magazine, while my photographer friend uses http://clipping-path-asia.com these days.
Just kidding Larry. I am a napp member and I subscribe to Kelby training. I just had to get my jab in with our employment problem here in the usa.
I just considered it an opportunity to do a little commercial. Thanks!
If you’re looking for the death threat comment, it was so full of cussing and vile imagery I couldn’t approve the post. Just imagine something really bad, and it was worse.
Hi Larry,
I jumped over from Twitter to find the death threat comment (consider it morbid curiosity, but I’m sure you planned that)only to find a great blog post instead.
Great hook to draw people in! Time to bookmark your blog and drop back. Oh yeah, welcome to Twitter, too!
Cheers!
DC
Thanks for the comments and welcome DC. Suffice it to say, the post contained things about me being a moron who, along with all financial planners and MBAs, should be slaughtered and fed to pigs. Then it got really bad. — Then again, I suppose if you’ve ever been to a political rally of any kind or watched the evening news, or listened to talk radio, you’ve probably heard things just as hateful.
Makes perfect sense to me. Trying to compete at the very same thing as the masses will invariably lead to a price war, feeling despondent and eventually ‘no business’, which is why I guess as photographers for example it’s important we have a unique style so we are offering something different and identifiable.
When it comes to editing, that’s something I’ll always want to do myself but as in the example you give here Larry, if I was needing to do large numbers of ‘cut outs’ on an almost daily basis then heck yeah, I’d outsource it’; the time it would take to do them, and do them well, I could be earning money on a shoot as opposed to being sat behind a screen.
I guess if a post such as this got ‘questionable’ comments then I can only imagine the person/s writing such just missed the point. I don’t think what’s being said here is to give your images to someone else to edit, or don’t try to be a photographer…not at all, what’s being said here is don’t do the same as everyone else or you’ll just end up in a price war and really what this is all about is clients wanting you to do the ‘job’ because they like your style/what you do as opposed to ‘you do the same as everyone else but you’re the cheapest’. Plus when it comes to doing minor, repetitive work then consider outsourcing it to free up your time to be creative and put money in your pocket.
Geez, I hope that’s what you meant Larry otherwise I fear my Inbox might get some action
Cheers,
Glyn