In some games in life, the only way to win is not to play…
We live in a competitive world, I get it. We constantly feel the pressure to maintain our standards of living and keep a roof over our heads. Here is a story that I find interesting as it illustrates perfectly that sometimes, competition is not the right way to save your job, business or marriage. But finding a new way to look at things is.
This 75 years old barber named Steve had been in business for as long as he could remember. He started cutting hair when he was 14 and by mowing lawns and working really hard had saved enough money over the years to start a small salon at 18. He was very proud of his job and had build a steady customer base over the many decades that his business had been opened. It is understandable that when one morning a big chain of discount hair salon place set shop a few stores down his, he felt threatened. He even lost a few nights of sleep after some of his customer decided to leave him and pay half the price to get their hair cut. Steve could have been discouraged and decide that at 75 years of age, maybe it was time to retire and enjoy the good life…
The problem is that Steve loved his job and he really enjoyed taking care of his customers and their sons/daughters and grandsons/granddaughters. What he had build over the years was not only a great barber shop and hair salon but also an institution in his small hometown. People would stop on their way to the grocery store on week ends just to say hello and share a cup of coffee. It was not about making money in less time for him, it was about making his customers feel happy with their looks and therefore their lives. So after much thoughts, he decided that to continue staying in business, his best bet was to find an original idea and stick to it and not try to align his prices to the discount prices of his competition.
One bright sunny morning he went to the art store and bought a large colored sign where he proceeded to write : “Here we don’t provide discount prices but we fix 10 dollars hair cut”. Guess what? From this day forward, the trend reversed, his clientele returned happy to pay a fair price for a good service…
So what can we learn from this story? Sometimes it is better to not compete at all and stay on your own path to success. Let others play their own games and stay out of it. Whatever is your vision in life, pursue it with all your might. The only competition after all is not with others but with yourself! Have a lovely week end !