David vs Goliath: How to Outgrow Your Competitors

Nobody likes to be the young kid on the playground, overshadowed by the bigger players and pushed around rather than respected. As a tiny startup, however, it’s no getting around this – someone needs to be the youngest, and at the moment that’s you.
Just like children want to grow up and be strong and successful as fast as possible, you’d like to see your business grow exceptionally, slamming each Goliath in the ground with new muscles and the kind of rapid growth they’d never see coming.
Your dream might be closer than you think if you’re willing to learn and able to listen to those who succeeded before you. Here is the best advice out there on how to outgrow your foes and beat them in the competition of business.
Outgrow them with technology
The great thing about being a startup these days is that you have an ocean of tech tools to push you few steps forward. A lot of these are even made for small businesses and tailor to your exact needs; cloud computing systems make it easy to organise and keep track of your data, streamline your process through automation, and an abundance of great software tools to take advantage of.
If you don’t make technology work for your business, you’re going to fall behind rather quickly. Besides, by allowing it to take care of some of the process for you rather than spending time and money on training an employee to do it, you’re allowing them to focus on what they do best: making your business prosper.
Keep your competitors close
If you want to beat them, you need to know who they are. The best way to go about with this is to be friendly, courteous, and always on the lookout for ways to innovate their ideas and make them your own. Spend time on this during business events, let a social media-savvy employee keep an eye on them on different platforms, and approach the businesses they work with to understand what they do.
By talking to different players at each end of their business, the customers and their suppliers, you’ll be able to understand what their business is lacking – and where you can easily have an advantage.
Like a strategic spy, you’re going to befriend your enemies and shake their secrets out of them. It’s a good idea to make use of business development services as well, as these are able to further your relationship with other companies and bring you the kind of insight you’re looking for.
Outgrow them with outsourcing
Lift some weight off your business by outsourcing routine tasks to third parties. It doesn’t have to be too costly if you find the right company – and remember that the time you spend on doing this yourself is also money. With a third party up your sleeve, you’ll also receive an entire additional team to help your customers and find solutions to their problems like never before – the kind of solutions your competitors are unable to offer.
When you can’t beat them right away, it is definitely best to befriend them instead. You’ll be able to use their insights and success to your advantage, make it work for your business, and innovate like never before.