I hope everyone is having an excellent Thursday and I appreciate you stopping through today to see what I have going on, now that I am no longer missing. Also quick thanks to everyone that commented on “Extreme John is Missing” the support was good stuff and I still find it fascinating that you enjoy the place, so thanks again.
As many of you know I will include some business tips from time to time just to break up the norm around here, from time to time I will even throw in a little hidden message to a competitor as a way of saying, “Hey, you wanted my attention now you have it… Do you still want it?”. I really enjoy the hidden messages because I find it pretty hysterical that my competitors and so many of the people that despise me still can’t fight off typing “extremejohn.com” in their browser window, I get to address them directly without saying one thing verbally. I leave the talkin to those big mouth Facebook 5 year old bitches the world needs people like that, it serves as a reminder to others with class how not to act.
Through the years in our tanning salon business we have always stuck by the theory that we would worry first and foremost about us and what we were doing to service our customers in a better way with each day that follows. Keeping that theory simple really has allowed us to focus on our business model instead of everyone else’s business model, it allowed us to create our own identity instead of biting off someone else’s concepts and creativity like some pathetic lame ass.
Now don’t get me wrong everyone knows that in business “Mimicry is the Highest form of Flattery”, I mean think about it. You have someone that views how you do things so highly that they abandon any of their own creativity and go with some quick copycat work instead.
Not everyone is willing to welcome and rejoice with a trunk slammer that wants to live the big dream, some people feel that it takes much more natural ability to run a business than being able to mimic another business’s every move.
5 Ways to avoid being The Copycat Company
- Read and learn about the business, be informed
- Write a list of 5 goals you would personally like to achieve.. ON YOUR OWN
- Conduct customer surveys and get feedback to grow on
- Do something that earns real respect in your industry
- Develop your own business plan and get feedback from others
I don’t feel that a copycat company or a business owner that decides to mimic my business or other business is honestly anything to be concerned about, and I don’t think any business owner that is dealing with a mimic pro should be too worried about it either. I mean really if you think about it for a moment what exactly is a copycat company going to do to the company that created their business model? The answer is nothing.
Creativity will always snap a creative-less spine, originality and class will always out finesse no class talent that lacks originality. It really is just the way it is, KFC has the recipe and other chicken places might try, but not one has ever been or beat KFC…. wanna know why? IT’S THE ORIGINAL and no copycat recipe is ever the same as KFC.
Hidden message or not the important thing to remember is that you will always get further by being original, creative and most importantly by having your own identity.
Leave a comment and share some of your thoughts about business owners that lack creativity and choose to mimic other business’s.
P.s. Here is quick trivia for you. If you were a small unhatched egg of a fish would you be dumb enough to try and piss of the shark in that same tank or would you be smart enough to take the sharks scraps and live a long healthy life?
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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
I do not see any wrong doing in copying others business marketing strategies. If the company have proven marketing campaign why not follow their procedure and have a share on a pie.
It is better that those companies that took too big pie that ended in monopolizing business.
.-= Lance´s last blog ..Minglanilla Beauty Pageant =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Lance, in theory that sounds great, however to an amateur business owner they can easily find themselves playing a marketing game that they can’t play because they never even did the math to assume the liabilities of doing the same marketing campaigns as other companies.
Example: Kmart can not advertise like Wal-Mart nor can they stay competitive when trying to do so, for various reasons.
Now on a more personal business level, the last thing I want to do as a business owner is find myself following everyone else around. I would rather lead the way and create my own paths than walk down everyone else’s beaten path.
Thank you gor taking the time to leave a comment.
Twitter: musicjudge
Copying and growing from what you’ve learned can be good.. Copying mindlessly and then becoming lazy by never truly coming up with anything yourself is stupid and will result in a much-deserved stagnation of your company and creativity.. Something that will, in the long run, kick your ass
.-= Hard Rocking South African@Music Judge´s last blog ..Featured Video =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Hard Rocking South African@Music Judge, I should have had you write this post
Perfectly said.
It just goes to prove some people dont have a single idea of their own, and reply on others.
Twitter: extremejohn
@SammyWasher, certainly true for some copycat business owners, but not all are complete idiots that need to copy every aspect of someone else’s business.
Some are more ballsy and dumb than most.
.-= Extreme John´s last blog ..Throwback: Playboy Mansion Party Pictures IIII =-.
Twitter: BBRIAN017
I find myself to be very unique and original. I took the pligg software and managed to create an amazing environment for bloggers to hang out. I also prove how I’m original on my blog as I’m always coming up with unique and innovative ways to market our blogs.
Lance has a good point. But I think he goes a bit far with it. Getting ideas from another business is one thing copying exactly what they do is wrong and should be frowned upon. Some people could say I’m nothing but a copy cat of digg but when you look at the overall picture I think I managed to take a piece of what made digg big and apply it to s smaller community for bloggers.
I guess it depends on how you feel about the topic. Is there a right and worn I would say yes and the line is very fine.
p.s. I would not mess with the shark ok very serious I would enjoy the fish bowl as is.
But on the other hand if it’s a medifor regarding would you challenge someone that is great then you then my answer is yes.
.-= bbrian017´s last blog ..Friday Blog Traffic Report 5 =-.
Twitter: thestarceleb
I agree with Hard Rocking. Great post John.
.-= Christa Bledsoe´s last blog ..“The Office” Star Engaged =-.
Twitter: ditesco
I have my own business too (offline) and I have to admit that I have “sniffed” around some strategies and “tactics” that my direct competitors are doing. I will maybe “copy” the overall idea but will not shamelessly do exactly the same things because if I do, then I will not have that “competitive edge”. That,”edge” is what makes the difference. Copycat companies can enjoy a little bit of fame but at the end of the day, they will fail because if they are creative, they will have to wait for their competitors to do something before, so they can then copy. In that scenario, they are one step behind and that is not a winning strategy.
.-= DiTesco´s last blog ..Get Rich Very Very Fast? =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@DiTesco, it’s always easy to tell who has been through real business experience and who has not been.
Your exactly right and in addition to the excellent points that you made it’s important to include the fact that the copycat business owners are ALWAYS ONE STEP BEHIND.
.-= Extreme John´s last blog ..One Good Reason NOT to Tweet and Drive =-.
Twitter: christiemiscbytes
Yep, they’ll always just be a pale imitation of the business they’re copying – an “also ran.” There really is something about the genuine article that we all recognize.
.-= Christie´s last blog ..Kinda creepy – Twitter stalking =-.
I own a company in a very unique industry, but even in our line of work people are trying to steal ideas all the time. We actually just had a company that completely copied our whole website, sucks…but I agree with you that you don’t get anywhere by being overly focused on your competition. To be the best, you have to be aware of your competitors but be the leader, not just another follower…
Twitter: extremejohn
@Tyler@Bio Solutions Arizona, see crap like that. Copying website design, copying specials, hell we have a copycat competitor that even uses the same verbiage we use when running a special.
Twitter: techfreaks
If you ask me, I would surely say that being unique gets the highest advantage. The major reason for it is that because, people get bored of repeated things in life and they want to try something new.
Offtopic: Your comment on my blog got deleted by me, by mistake. Sorry for that. You can surely repost your thought. Thanks!
.-= Tech-Freak Stuff´s last blog ..Useful Tips for Writing Good Blog Comments =-.
Twitter: extremejohn
@Tech-Freak Stuff,
that stinks about the comment, I will be back through anyway.
Twitter: earningstep
damn… i hate copycat very hard and i have review some tips on my blog too . btw thank for this tips
.-= EarningStep´s last blog ..Get cash back when you shopping online – bigcrumbs cash back diagram =-.
Twitter: barbaraling
I’d also say, become the vendor of choice in your niche as well. It’s extremely difficult to copycat you/your business if a key component centers upon the personal flair and branding you offer.
.-= Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach´s last blog ..When your WONDERFUL readers ride to the rescue! =-.
As more and more people look for the shortcut, we will see more copy-cats, both online and off.
It helps to find what sells, but to blindly copy someone else’s approach is both wrong and counter-productive. Just copying, without understanding or innovation, will extremely both the width and depth of most endeavors.
But it does help to have an idea of where to start.
.-= Keith@Norman Rockwell Art´s last blog ..Sep 1, The 1939 Norman Rockwell Santa, Extra Good Boys And Girls =-.
I love civilized people, and therefore I appreciate people who look in their own yard then over the fence.
However inspiration is one thing and trying to copy is another. Inspiration means that you could take a business model as a guide but add your own perspective to it, while copying is just trying to steal other people’s thinking results.
.-= Car News and Reviews´s last blog ..Mercedes Benz S 400 HYBRID. Driving on the Road to the Future =-.
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