The saying is "competition is the life of trade," and this saying is
true, or it would not have endured so long.
If it were not for competition we should be living in the woods in a
state of savagery.
Ages ago all men and women led the simple life. Their chief vocation
was idleness. When the weather was hot the man sat in the shade; as the
sunshine crept to him he moved into the shade again. In winter he
reversed the process.
When our savage ancestor felt a pain in his stomach, his simple
instinct showed him that if he put things in his mouth and swallowed
them the pain in the stomach would leave.
This low browed man's whole object in life was to keep from having
those hunger pains, and the only energy he expended was in hustling for
food and in protecting his food from the other savages.
One day a man observed that the beasts lived on each other, so he
conceived the idea that it would be good for him to live on other
animals. That it would be easier than digging roots and gathering
herbs, so this man caught and ate slow-moving animals. He used a club
to do the killing.
Along about here competition began, for another man learned to throw a
club and kill his game. Then another competitor discovered that a round
stone was a more effective weapon than a club.
These hairy forbears of ours lived in caves until competition led up to
the building of huts.
One day a savage discovered that while the skins of animals were hard
to eat, they nevertheless made a good body covering. Another discovered
that if the skins were tied about him it left his arms free to act.
This man was the first tailor. He punched holes in the skin and tied
the rude garment together with strips of skin. This first tailor was
quite an important man among his fellows on account of his great
discovery.
Some of these wild men were fleet of foot and had well developed
cunning. They became expert hunters. On the other hand some of the less
active, by the law of compensation, became more expert tailors, so
trade was formed. The hunter killed enough for himself and the tailor,
while the tailor made clothes for both of them.
In these days the woodsman lived on animals and the plainsman on
vegetables mostly. So the woodsman traded skin clothing with the
plainsman for grains and herbs, and this marked the birth of commerce.
Then dugouts and canoes were built, and thus our ancestors crossed
lakes and seas and developed maritime commerce.
From away back in those dark ages up to the present time competition
has stimulated mankind and spurred him on towards better conditions.
The whole human race has benefited by each improvement which
competition has brought about.
We have in mind a certain mail order house that up to 1894 had things
its own way. Then it sold two to three million dollars worth of
merchandise annually. A competitor came into the field, stirred things
up, and now the old mail order house is doing eight to ten times as
much business per annum as they did before they had the competition.
In the matter of competition we must early learn not to worry over
competition, but to derive as much good from it as possible.
If a competitor does something better than you do, do not kick or
protest, but jump into the band wagon and do the thing as well or
better than he does it.
Price cutting is the simplest and most common phase of competition, but
a better way to get advantage over your competitor is to improve your
business by cutting off wastes and leaks, and reducing fixed and fancy
charges so you can give your customers more quality and more quantity
for the money.
In proportion as you increase the value you give for a dollar, just so
you will find it easier to get the dollar.
Do not regard competition as hurtful to your business, but rather look
upon it as a pace-maker for you.
If you had ten experts working for you studying how to improve your
business you would certainly get benefit from it, but probably not
enough benefit to offset the great cost of hiring these ten experts.
On the other hand, if you have ten competitors who are sitting up
nights studying how to improve their businesses, you can get the
benefit of their experience without it costing you anything.
The world is big and there is room for all, but old compensation says
the prizes are given to the fittest.
If you are a laggard, if you are on the defensive instead of on the
aggressive, get busy, wake up, do it now.