I often hear from new or potential clients about their competitors. They'll share that they can't raise their prices due to competition. They'll tell me that there are SO many others doing what they do. They'll express fears that there are too many (coaches, designers, fill in the blank with your profession here) and that's why they're struggling to get business.

I get it. New coaches enter the market daily.

But I don't believe in competition in my work. What I've learned over the years is that the more I step into my unique work - the work that leverages my gifts, experiences, and passions, the more my work doesn't look like everyone else's.

I've gotten to the point that if someone doesn't hire me, then I believe that, obviously, my work wasn't for them. Full disclosure: this attitude took years to cultivate!

And I see this in my clients' work, too. They're designers and artists who keep leaning more and more into their own unique style. They're coaches who carve out niches only they can serve and create offerings that only they can make. They're business people who recognize their abilities and lead in their own way.

And time and time again, I see that the more they step into their unique work, the more success seems to come their way.

Curious about how to view your work through the lens of no competition? Then consider adopting a Blue Ocean strategy.

I first learned about the Blue Ocean concept 5 years ago in a Marie TV interview with Renee Mauborgne, one of the authors of a book called Blue Ocean Strategy, How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant. In it, Renee describes a way to avoid the red ocean of competition for a wide-open Blue Ocean. Click on the image below to watch the interview.

Some examples of well-known businesses or brands that created Blue Oceans include Drybar, Viagra, Swatch, Apple iPhone, and Warby Parker.

If you're interested in revisiting your business or offerings through a Blue Ocean lens, here are 4 questions from the book to get you started:

Which factors does your industry take for granted that could just as easily be eliminated?
Which factors should be reduced well below the industry standard?
Which factors should be raised well above the industry standards?
Which factors should be created that the industry has never offered?

I'd love to hear from you. Do these questions get you energized about creating a Blue Ocean strategy in your work?

If you're intrigued by the Blue Ocean concept and want to go even deeper, this Daily Stoic discussion between Ryan Holiday and Renee Mauborgne is illuminating.

I particularly loved how they talked about how a Blue Ocean strategy can be applied not only to our work but to our lives. And as always, I appreciate how they keep it real by discussing that creating and executing a Blue Ocean strategy is hard. Despite that, I came away feeling even more inspired to explore the Blue Ocean of my work and the work of my clients!

I hope it inspires you, too!

Here's to you finding your Blue Ocean!

Don't Worry About the Competition