The Freelance Alliance contacted me recently to answer a question that one of their readers had posed.
The business man was worried about putting out to tender the need for PR and marketing services.
He was concerned that by doing so, the PR agencies that didn't win the contract would subsequently approach their competitors.
You see, this man believes his products are extremely niche and doesn't want the few competitors he does have to get wind of him starting to use public relations for his own company.
He's worried they'll do the same and he'll therefore miss out on any benefits of marketing.
This isn't the case.
I firmly believe you shouldn't worry about the competition.
Let them worry about themselves.
You should just concentrate on what you do best and do it well.
If you keep your customers happy, you'll always get repeat business.
And their recommendations through word-of-mouth are your strongest ally in the world of marketing.
If you concentrate on building a successful business, doing a fantastic job for your customers and really pushing to learn new skills and adapt with the markets, you'll always be strides ahead of your competition anyway.
By the time your competition do seemingly 'catch up', you'll be on to the next round of progression and they'll always be chasing after what you have already achieved.
Besides, there's always plenty of business to go around.
If you don't realise that fact, then perhaps you're not really 'with it'.
By worrying about the competition, you're clearly not as 'on the ball' as you might think.
Those who are confident in their skills and abilities won't worry about what others are doing.
We can't control the competition and they can't control us.
So just focus on your own goals and you'll find everything goes your way.
As Henry Ford once said: "The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time.
" I couldn't have put it better myself.
Concentrate on your own business.
And smile to yourself if you know your competitors are sniffing you out.
It means you're a threat and doing even better than you anticipated.
To find out more about how to win at business, visit http://www.
boomerangpr.
com.