Sometimes your competition does such a good job that it’s practically impossible to overtake them. If that’s the case, don’t spin your wheels trying to come up with original ideas. Just figure out what they do better than you and make those ideas yours.

There’s no trademark or patent on good business ideas. So there’s nothing stopping you from mimicking other people’s successful strategies. In fact, the best businesses continually monitor their competitors to see what they are doing better. Then they apply those same concepts to their business to realize the same successes.

‘Nihil Nove Sub Sole”

There’s a very old expression in Latin, “Nihil nove sub sole” which translates to “There is nothing new under the sun.” What it means is that all the great ideas your business and your competitors have applied already have been used hundreds of times before by other businesses you’ve probably never heard about. Sure, technology can change the platform and offer new ways to reach more customers more easily, but the basic tenets of business have remained consistent for generations.

Give customers what they want. Remove obstacles to their choosing your products or services. Build loyalty bonds to encourage repeat business. All of these business practices were just as important 100 years ago as they are today. And they will continue to provide the framework for successful strategies for future generations of entrepreneurs.

Just Do It

Appropriating somebody else’s good idea to your business isn’t stealing. It’s just good business. So when you find things your competitors do better than you, don’t get caught up in regret and recriminations. Take them and make them your own.,

Great ideas don’t even need to come from your competitors or even your industry. Great business owners constantly are on the lookout for successful strategies and continually think about ways of incorporating them into their own business plans.