So I am a brand new Home Decor, Home Design, and boutique event space business in my small touristy beach town. I have zero competition in terms of what I do. I also love to network and create good relationships with other businesses owners and I’m known to collaborate and promote other businesses.
Well, this is proven to bite me in the butt. In terms of support, I have TONS of wonderful support within the community. Non-business owners are super supportive and kind with my new business. Business owners love to eat up my kind words towards them and then turn around and copy everything I’m doing marketing wise.
I hosted a Makers and Creators Market and brought local small artists into my store to sell their items for a weekend. I asked one particular artist to sell her items in my store full time. A local florist I invited to sell in my space that weekend overheard me and also asked that same artist to sell in her store too when I wasn’t listening. The florist then announces the collaboration before I could announce this artist would be in my store. It just felt so petty. I talked very well if this florist on my social media page and something about this whole interaction rubbed me wrong.
Another instance, I sell “surprise books” in my shop. These are books that are wrapped so you can’t see what they are and they are a surprise after you buy them. They get a ton of compliments but not many sales. I buy these books from a very small maker out of state. They aren’t easy to find. Last weekend I had a lady come and bought two of those books. She didn’t introduce herself or let me know she owns our local book store. A few days later our local book store advertises on Social Media showing these two books. This lady bought them from my store then turned around and put those same books up for sale in her store about 500ft away. Again, this just rubbed me wrong. I would be happy to let her know where I buy them from if she asked.
This is just a fraction of what’s been going on. In fact, this is just within the last week. I haven’t really had much positivity come from other local businesses towards mine. Everyone seems to want me to shut down even though I’m NO threat at all towards them. Just a lot of bad attitudes and bitterness.
How do new businesses overcome the pettiness??
You are overvaluing your ideas and undervaluing your execution.
If someone can see you do something once and repeat it, it wasn’t that awesome to begin with, unfortunately.
“Secret books” aren’t unique. Woot did “bags of crap” a decade ago, TONS of people do grab bag type sales.
Makers markets aren’t unique. They are everywhere.
The good ones aren’t good because they are unique, they are good because they are well executed consistently. Do that.
Couple things going on here
If another business wants to buy your product, mark it up, sell it - that’s not unethical. That’s business. That means your product is underpriced or undermarketed.
You need to work on marketing. First step is strongly branding yourself as “established 2018” or whenever you started. This will show customers that the ideas are coming from you. You also should post every single thing you do on social media. I personally would include a not obvious thing about like, these surprise books, post that you are the original creator of design books get the best bets here. One in 10 books is collectible and worth more than $x. Essentially make it a little more difficult to outright steal your ideas.
You also need to consider exclusivity contracts for these makers creators events. It’s completely reasonable to say that they are limited to your events, or at least limited to not selling to local competitors within a certain distance if you have a unique market. This sounds unethical on the surface but is VERY VERY common. If you go this route, you need to bump up your marketing a ton. Explain that listen, you are using your brand to market their products. If you take the time, risk, and effort to do that, they need to limit the distance in which they sell their products. Every major retailer has similar agreements; it’s super common.
OP don’t take any of what you said about the decisions of others the wrong way.
Why though? You have to remember, from the sounds of what your saying these are all people either doing a side business OR are very small and starting out. They’re going to take the best deal they can get, which means it they’re going to gain 3% more profit elsewhere they will go immediately.
Reselling happens everywhere. Increase your price so you get the sale first, the person reselling will need to make a profit. Once you have enough business people will say “it’s cheaper at this store” and go to you.
Just keep doing what your doing and don’t let others get in your way or bother you.
For me, I repair video game consoles. There’s one console, while right now it’s slowed down is coming in regularly to have the hdmi port replaced. I charge $125-$150 (depends on my mood and how fast they want it done). There’s another person offering the same service about a half hour from me for $90.
People know of his price, many still come to me. Why? Because my service is fast, I stand behind my work, and pictures I show people don’t look like a disorganized disaster on a tiny desk. I’ve been asked to discount down to $90 and when I explain why I won’t, they still pay the full price. Sure, there’s others that will go to that guy, and when it fails they come to me because the other guy won’t stand behind his workmanship (and yes I’ve had the odd one fail and come back which I’ve fixed at 0 cost to the customer).
Do your thing. Find ways to ignore what I like to call the “bottom feeders”. I equate those types to those MLM boss mom types.
They are just jealous and want to copy your ideas. I know it’s frustrating but you have to try and take it as a compliment and keep doing you. You sound like you will be successful so don’t even think about them. And stop spending so much time shouting out or hyping them up unless they are doing the same back.
For fun and to be petty do a giveaway with another florist and book store in town if there’s others. Those ones where you all post it and to enter people have to like all your pages.
The things you describe are not unethical, they are normal business. It’s unreasonable to think that people won’t copy the effective things you do. You can succeed by being more innovative, but you have to keep innovating to stay ahead.
You are overvaluing the uniqueness of what you have done, and undervaluing the importance of executing a plan efficiently. Instead of being upset about what your competitors are doing, focus on ways to do things they won’t be able to copy.