How to Beat Your Huge Competitors David vs. Goliath:

How can I build a successful business from scratch when there are giant companies  in my industry? How can I profitably compete with industrial giants

  when my budget is limited? If you want answers to the two questions posed above, read on.

You don’t have to be the biggest to beat the biggest. – Henry Ross Pérot

The story of David and Goliath is one of the Bible stories that I have loved so much since I was a child. For those of you who may not be familiar with this story, it is simply the story of a little shepherd who defeated a famous giant fully armed warrior.

An inspiring story of how a boy rose from nothing to become one of the greatest king and warrior. Although I’m not a religious fanatic, I often use this story as inspiration when facing a giant obstacle.

“You can be Goliath, but still act like David.” – Philip Knight

Now, how does this story apply to you and the business world  ? As an entrepreneur, I guess you know the business world is full of giant corporations spending billions of dollars on advertising. These giants have what it takes to crush any small business that crosses their path.

“In business, the competition will bite you if you keep running. If you stand still, they will swallow you. ”- Victor Kim

But over time, I have seen a few small cap companies with limited budgets outperform these giant competitors. So how did these small, tight-budgeted businesses beat giant competitors? How have companies like Microsoft, AOL, Dell, Amazon, Google and Yahoo surpass big names like Barnes and Noble, IBM, JC Penny, Wal-Mart, etc.? This article will give you the answer.

After extensive research, I finally found the answer to these questions in the story of David and Goliath. I also learned that the lesson of this story is very applicable to the business world. Asking the above questions is like asking  how David defeated Goliath  ?

In this article, I’ll show you how to beat your giant competition on a tight budget, using David and Goliath’s story as a source of reference. All you have to do is keep an open mind and be prepared to apply the principles. Before I continue, I would like you to accept your business as David and your competition as Goliath.

“This is why I say: know the enemy and know thyself; in a hundred battles you will never be defeated. When you don’t know your enemy, but you know yourself; Your chances of winning or losing are equal. If you don’t know your enemy or yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle. ”- Sun Tzu

In each of us there are David and Goliath. – Rich dad

  1. The strength of the niche

In the battle against the Philistine army, David was able to find a niche; a niche in which no one wanted to venture. All the Israeli soldiers were waiting for a confrontation with the Philistine army, but no one wanted to meet Goliath. David was able to find a niche where no one wanted to fight Goliath, so instead of focusing on an army of enemies, he focused on Goliath. Goliath was his niche to win.

Focus your energy, your thoughts and your capital. “- Andrew Carnegie

Also in the business world, large companies with billions of dollars to spend on advertising often have a presence in large mass markets, so they pay less attention to small niches. Now, for you on a tight budget, you can compete with these bigger competitors, focusing your efforts on niches overlooked by the giants. Sometimes big companies feel too big to serve these small niches. All you have to do is tap their egos, serve those little niches on a tight budget, and watch sales skyrocket. I think you will understand better with these illustrations:

  • How did Richard Bransons of Virgin Atlantic break the British Airways monopoly? Reply; Virgin Atlantic has focused on providing superior service at a lower cost to the neglected niche,  business class and students.
  • How did Henry Ford become one of the richest people of his time? Henry Ford became a billionaire in his life because he focused on providing a quality car at affordable prices for a neglected niche, the masses or the low income people.

All of these illustrations lead me to my lesson, which reads:  There is often an abandoned or neglected niche in every industry  . To beat your competition, all you have to do is find that niche and serve it. Leave mass marketing to the giants; You can do better by using targeted marketing as a strategy  .

  1. The power of faith

Before facing Goliath, David believed that Goliath could be defeated. Now, as human beings, we are forced to experience doubt or fear. David might have felt a bit of fear, but the difference was; his faith was stronger than his fear  . Faith is simply the ability to act despite great doubts.

  Fear is the belief that it won’t work. “-

  Mary Kay Ash

As an entrepreneur, you should never think of your competition as infallible. You have to see your mission as an opportunity to outperform your competition. As the adidas slogan says:  impossible – nothing  If you follow your business plan and execute your competitive strategy with this mindset, success will be yours. I want you to know this about faith; faith attracts supernatural help.

It is impossible to please God without faith. With faith you can move mountains. Bible

3 The power of self-confidence

Some people are related with self-confidence and faith, but I can tell they are not the same. Faith is not faith in yourself. While faith says it can be done, faith in myself says I can do it. While faith says there is a possibility, faith in yourself says I am a possibility. Faith without faith in yourself is in vain. ”- Adjaero Tony Martins

If you analyze the biblical story of David and Goliath; you will notice that the Israelites believed that one day Goliath would be defeated, but no one believed in himself. The soldiers said in their hearts that  one day Goliath would be defeated  , but they avoided the word  I can kill Goliath. David didn’t just believe that Goliath could be defeated; he also believed that it was he who had done it.

“One of the important keys to success is self-confidence. Preparation is an important key to self-confidence. ”- Arthur Ash

Many entrepreneurs lack self-confidence; Many entrepreneurs are very good at identifying opportunities disguised as problems, and they know that a solution can be found, but they don’t see themselves as offering the required solution. Many entrepreneurs do not believe in their God-given abilities. Some cannot imagine that their company competes favorably with large companies. As an entrepreneur, you have to believe that your competitor can be beaten and you have to believe that your business can.

The biggest challenge you face is to question your own self-doubt and laziness. It is your insecurity and laziness that defines and limits who you are. – Rich dad

Now, how can you develop faith in you  –  even  ? The first step is to access your strengths and weaknesses. I added a weakness here because the chain is as strong as its weakest link. You also need to access that of your competition. Although Goliath was fully armed and heavily armored, he was defeated because his opponent (David) discovered and exploited his weakness. You can outperform your competition if you can spot their weaknesses and exploit them.

Another way to boost your self-confidence is to gain courage and inspiration from your past accomplishments and track record. David gained courage from his past accomplishments in killing a bear and a lion. He believed that Goliath would also turn out to be like a lion and a bear. You can also boost your self-confidence by finding out your competitive edge in business.

You are crazy and should be proud of it. Stick with what you believe in. Hawkins Trip

  1. The power of persuasion

Although David had faith, confidence, and a good track record, he would never have faced Goliath if he hadn’t been able to convince and sell himself to King Saul.

Selling is the number one skill in a business; if you can’t sell, don’t think about owning a business. – Rich dad

The same scene applies to the business world. I’ve seen entrepreneurs with solid business plans, but they don’t seem to be successful because they don’t have the ability to convince investors to invest in their idea. I have seen companies with great products and services stay the same because they can’t sell. You may have a strong competitive advantage, a great product or service, and a proven track record, but if you can’t market yourself, you’ll stay where you are.

Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to make it up. Selling it is proof of usefulness, and usefulness is success. – Thomas Edison

Sometimes I wonder where Bill Gates would be if he couldn’t sell his offering to IBM. I wonder if General Electric would have been if Thomas Edison couldn’t sell himself to investors, and I wonder, Aliko Dangote; the richest black man in the world would be able to raise a billion dollars for his cement plant in Obajan if he didn’t have the opportunity to sell.

  1. Leverage

“Give me a lever and a place to stand and I’ll turn the earth.” Archimedes

Leverage is one of the most powerful words in business and investing. Leverage is simply the ability to do more with less. How can I make my business competitive with fewer resources?

Leverage is the reason some people get rich and others get rich. – Rich dad

David admitted that Goliath was taller and stronger than him, so he asked a question; how can I defeat Goliath without involving him in hand-to-hand combat? This response came in the form of leverage. This lever was the  sling  .

The most important word in the world of money is cash flow. The second most important word is leverage. – Rich dad

The simple truth is this; the levers are everywhere. Leverage can take the form of financial leverage, brand leverage, individual leverage, and smart leverage. In fact, there are many ways to outperform your competition using leverage as a tool. I won’t go into the details of using leverage as I wrote an article called  The Power of Leverage before  , so if you’re interested, you can read it later. One final point I want to talk about about leverage: Leverage is a double-edged sword and can make or break your business.

Financial leverage is an advantage of the rich over the poor and the middle class.   Rich dad

  1. speed power

Your most important and powerful business survival strategy is how quickly you manage the speed of change. This speed of change is a trend. Adjaero Tony Martins

When it comes to building a business, I’ve seen what the power of speed can do. But before I continue, let me go back to the story of David and Goliath. Goliath was armed with a shield, a spear and a sword, but David only had a slingshot and a stone. What is the difference?

“The speed of the leader determines the speed of the gang.” – Mary Kay Ash

David and Goliath’s weapons had the potential to kill, but the difference came in their speed. Although David’s weapons were cheaper, lighter, and smaller, they could hit their target faster than Goliath. The slingshot and the stone had the power of speed.

A company’s ability to react to an unforeseen event, good or bad, is a key indicator of its ability to compete. – Bill Gates

Is the power of speed still applicable today? My answer is yes. As the dot com era dawned, I saw how quickly new small businesses like Dell, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google were embracing the dot com trend. While older businesses were on the verge of joining the web trend, smaller businesses did. These smaller companies subsequently outperformed their older, larger-cap counterparts. It’s the power of speed.

How quickly a business can respond to an emergency is a measure of its business reflexes. – Bill Gates

Often the most important speed problem is cultural rather than technical. He convinced everyone that the survival of the business depends on how everyone moves as quickly as possible. – Bill Gates

Hope you know that the speed at which you make life changing decisions determines how far and how fast you go in life. My question for you now is,  how fast is your marketing weapon  ? How fast is your business idea? How fast is your plan and what is your strategy? ?

There are fast ideas and slow ideas, just as there are fast trains and slow trains. When it comes to money, most people on the slow train look out the window and watch the fast train go by. If you want to get rich quick, your plan should include quick ideas. – Rich dad

The Internet has come with a new kind of speed and small businesses have quickly taken advantage of this new speed. Taking advantage of this new speed, these new small businesses were able to reach customers faster and more cheaply than their giant counterparts. Companies like Dell, EBay, and Amazon sold more and shipped faster through online stores. They quickly dealt with customer complaints and email orders. the power to do more with less. This new strength has led small cap companies to outperform and ultimately become more valuable than their giant competitors.

Business will change over the next ten years from the past fifty years. – Bill Gates

The business world is changing so rapidly. Unless you want to take advantage of the latest innovations or trends, your business will become obsolete or outdated. I ask again; How fast is your plan and strategy? How fast can you keep up with the rate of change called the trend  ? The answer to these questions can be your competitive advantage.

After three years, every product my company makes will be obsolete. The only question is whether we are making them obsolete or someone else. – Bill Gates

  1. The power of flexibility

Most entrepreneurs have a  problem with mental toughness. Entrepreneurs with mental toughness may have good plans, but the problem is, they think their plan is the best. When presented with a new and better plan, these entrepreneurs will shut their heads; My plan is the best.

The willingness to change is a strong point, even if it throws part of the business into complete confusion for a while. »Jack Welch

The lack of flexibility caused Henry Ford to lose the leading position of the Ford Motor Company to Alfred Sloan of General Motors. Henry Ford insisted on the mass production of single-color cars; black, while General Motors experimented with different colors on its cars.

To defeat the enemy, you must be flexible like water. Water has the ability to quickly take the shape of any container it finds. Chinese proverb

In most of my articles, you’ll notice that I always recommend staying open. Instead of just reading the title of my article and drawing conclusions, I always recommend that you be open-minded, read the article carefully, and reflect on the lessons. Your review can follow.

Cynics and fools are twins from opposite sides of reality and possibility. Fools will believe any contrived scheme, and a cynic will criticize anything outside of their reality. The reality of cynics does not allow anything new, and the reality of fools is incapable of preventing stupid ideas. – Rich dad

I recommend keeping you open as the coin has two sides. In any situation, opinion, fact, problem or opportunity; there are always two sides. The problem is, most people only see one side of the coin. Seeing both sides takes an open mind.

Back to our story: David had never used a sword or armor before; all he could use was a belt. Although David was not used to wearing armor, he wanted to try it on when King Saul suggested to him. As a result, David did not use Sauls’ sword and armor, but more importantly, he understood the power of flexibility. Flexibility as a competitive strategy can be the key to outperforming your giant competitors. As an entrepreneur, you need to be constantly on the cutting edge. You should always be open to new ideas and ready to broaden your perspective.

  1. The power of strategy

In any game, strategy is a very important word; and entrepreneurship is a game. It is often said in business that a company with a smarter strategy will always win. Sometimes we associate the word “strategy” with “  tactic  ”, but they don’t match.

According to the Oxford Dictionary; a strategy is a plan designed to achieve a specific goal. It is also said to be the process of planning something or skillfully implementing a plan. On the other hand, tactics are a special method used to achieve something.

My most important word in business is “Strategy” and the reason is this: the speed at which your business grows is directly proportional to the overall bottom line. The strategy deployed in this company and the team behind the creation of this strategy – Adjaero Tony Martins

Now, as you try to beat your competition, you need to develop a smart strategy that will help you achieve your goal. The goal of a business strategy is to focus your business on shared resources with the ultimate goal of increasing sales, overcoming competition, and dominating a niche. Using a quote from our Bible story, you will notice that David was strategic in his approach to Goliath. His strategy was to overpower Goliath with minimal effort; and to ensure the successful implementation of this strategy, David used the following tactics:

  • He chose five stones instead of one in case the first stone didn’t strike.
  • He avoided involving Goliath in hand-to-hand combat because he knew he couldn’t match Goliath’s strength with strength.
  • He exploited Goliath’s ego and overconfidence
  • He was aiming to achieve his goal with the first shot
  • He took Goliath by surprise and took him by surprise

Winning Hundred Battles for Hundred Victories is not an ACME skill. Removing an enemy without a fight is an ACME skill. Sun Tzu

These are five tactics David used in his fight against Goliath and it worked. Before going up against your competition, consider putting together a strategy that also includes contingency plans if something goes wrong. not that way.

“The best thing to invest in your business is your time. To plan, plan and use your time effectively, know your lawn and know your goals. Evaluate obstacles and opportunities and develop your strategies. ”- Mafia manager

In closing, I want you to know that business success doesn’t come about just by reading, but by implementing what you read. the taste of the pudding is in what he eats. Beating your giant competitors will not come about just through planning, but through strategic execution of the plan. In conclusion, I leave you with this quote.

When someone challenges you, resist. Be tough, be tough. Donald trump

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