“These corporate giants are absolutely massive!” you might be thinking. “How is our up-and-coming small business going to outsell them, or grow anywhere close to their size?” These are some of the typical doubts that may pass through your mind as the owner of a small business. And though it’s easy to get down on yourself when the competition seems tough — and it very well may be tough — take note of this: your attitude is completely normal, but it can be changed.
Growing Your Small Business In An Industry Full Of Giants
No one ever said that running a small business would be easy, but after countless hours of hard work and perseverance, you can and will pull through. We can’t make any promises, but when you do finally succeed and achieve your desired goals, it will be incredibly rewarding. All of this motivational talk aside, how can you practically get an edge over those major competitors in your chosen industry? There are many things that go into creating value for you and your business, so finding a good starting point and truly evaluating your the current state of your company can be challenging.
Fortunately, our small business loan providers in Los Angeles are here to the rescue!
Our Los Angeles Small Business Lenders Help Your Company Grow Healthy and Strong
For starters, having a healthy cash flow and state of financial matters is something you’ll need to value as a small business owner. A lack of sufficient startup capital — as we’ve stressed so many times in the past — is one of the single most common problems that small companies must overcome. Of course, with asset-based loans and factoring lending available in our Los Angeles and Atlanta locations, The Commercial Finance Group can help you overcome these typical financial hurdles.
Read on below to get some more insight as to why bigger isn’t necessarily better when it comes to business. Should you have any questions or you’d like to take the next step to a healthy state of your cash flow, our Los Angeles Small business lenders are only a click away.
Seriously: Bigger Isn’t Necessarily Better
Sure, maybe the competition has more product selection, or they can deliver products faster and cheaper to the customer. Perhaps they have excellent vendor relationships or they’re just a well-known name in your industry, having been around for decades and decades. However, despite these potential truths, these companies lack something special that (we assume) small business owners like you have: motivation to grow big and succeed.
These giants are already big, meaning that they don’t require the same level of drive or sheer perseverance as you have in order to succeed in today’s dog-eat-dog world. They might be on top, but there’s no true motivation or incentive to work as hard as you’re working. Again, it’s not going to be easy, but loyal customers can and will appreciate your hard work ethic and superior, highly-dedicated services or tailor-made products. Keep pushing on, sweating through the pain, and you might be surprised at how far you’ve come…as everything blurs by you because you and your business are progressing so fast!
Listen And Pay Attention To What People Want
Oftentimes, big companies might be the only choice — or the only convenient choice — for consumers to patronize. As such, you might be surprised at how little these giants really care about innovating, changing their business practices, or even just listening to consumer demand and tweaking their business to better cater to these consumers. After all, the larger your company is, the more time, effort and money it takes to put forth company-wide change.
You’re small, but this also means that you’re nimble, agile, and you can adapt to change much easier. Create an ethos around your business that’s client or customer-centric. Don’t let consumers drive every single business decision that you make, per se, but do be responsive and be willing to hear them out. Clients absolutely love suppliers who solve their problems, and guess what? Problems are constantly changing and evolving. By dynamically tailoring your services or products around these changing issues, you’ll have a significant leg on your otherwise “superior” competition. Trust us.
Focus On High-End Products
Broad markets are usually more lucrative for larger companies to tackle, in part because they have the economic resources and scale in order to do so. While some of (likely most) your products might be more costly in comparison, your small business has the freedom to offer niche or unusual items that might be higher in quality. If anything, at least your company is more interesting than the big box giants out there.
If it’s within the scope of your original business plan or company model, why not carry or create special products that consumers just can’t find in big box stores? Why not provide a service with a twist? There’s something to be said about leveraging creativity as a means of getting ahead of the competition. Even if you’re not getting ahead, at least you’re differentiating your company from the competition. In an age where there are literally thousands and thousands of companies out there, differentiation is absolutely essential to help set you apart from the competition.
Use Your Personal Presence To Your Advantage
When curious people see that a new business has popped up in town, if they’re going to check it out, who do they want to see and talk to? That’s right: you! Your personal presence is something that you can take advantage of in a number of ways. People seem to be more comfortable with a new business when they hear the owner’s story, or get some personal insight about what company is and why it’s there.
On a more practical note, just physically being around your store (if you own a brick and mortar business) means that you can cut initial costs on things like security, cleaning, and general staffing needs. Until you grow in size and can afford to do so, you’ll be taking care of matters on a very personal basis.
Hit A Local Demographic
Big companies tend to think…well, big. They can’t (and won’t) position themselves as a genuinely local company, partially because that just doesn’t make sense from a business-wise perspective. However, showing your local community that you really care about serving them and only them will help foster customer loyalty. Whether this gives your business more of an “authentic” flair or it just shows that you simply care about the people that you’re serving, as opposed to seeing them as just another sale, appealing to a local demographic is a worthwhile strategy to stand up against the competition.
Really, just think about how many mom and pop shops and small restaurants that do perfectly when bigger businesses move in around them. Quality matters!
Our Small Business Lenders In Los Angeles Can Help You Get Ahead Of The Competition
Regardless of what your industry is, if you have a great idea and you’d like to grow it with the help of a healthy cash flow, The Commercial Finance Group is your ticket to success! By taking advantage of our unique approach to lending, we can help you take control of your small business’ cash flow situation. Contact us today to learn more!
