You had a eureka moment. A great business idea came to you and you are excited to be the first – the visionary pioneer who will bring this promising idea to the market.
Then fear kicks in.
- You are down and disappointed after finding out that you were not the first with this idea.
- You are certain that your idea is indeed new and so the fear that someone might steal it is causing you to worry about every single move you make.
The second mover advantage.
A quick statistics conducted by Forbes on first-mover advantage (for a business running a fresh new idea) VS second-mover advantage (for a business running an improved version of an existing business model) can alleviate this worry. The result of this research indicates that “new” businesses has a failure rate of 47%. The failure rate for the “followers” is substantially lower at 8%. Why? Two main reasons.
- New ideas require high capital for product introduction.
- Followers can learn from other’s mistakes – keep what works and leave the rest that does not appeal to their target group.
Focus on execution.
Being faster than your competitors is the strongest – and often times the only – advantage you have if you are small and just starting off. Build a strong agile team ready for executing change and tackling challenges. It is a crucial asset that is never secondary to having a pioneering business idea.
Join our community discussions to learn more about this and other useful business psychology that have helped many reach success. – MindMode Group