Competition

A friend of mine recently reached out for advice. She runs a small shop outside of Seattle and a nearby coffee shop seems to mimic most of her drinks and business ideas. Week after week, she sees social media posts with beverages she’s known for, business ideas that separated her from other shops, and she’s become exhausted by it. Like me, she believes small businesses must support one another, but she finds the coincidences of this other shop frustrating. She was sick of hearing that imitation is the greatest form of flattery and she didn’t understand why an established business would want to threaten her livelihood. She asked for tips on dealing with the ongoing unnecessary competition. It took a bit to respond, but I finally told her that my advice isn’t what she wants to hear: breathe. Not that this is easy, or that it’s always going to work, but retaliation only makes her look small. In a town as small as hers, people will know if she’s acting out of spite. She’s a writer. I told her to write her frustrations down, to stop paying attention to the other shop’s social media, and to focus on her successes. It’s perfectly acceptable to be annoyed but ultimately, she only has one competitor: herself.

Michael Jordan: "You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that."

Calamity’s is extremely competitive. Not a week (maybe even day) goes by when I don’t get a text from a staff member with a great idea. We set high standards for ourselves and then expect to do better. Miri sends me videos of epic drinks, Stacie is constantly coming up with ways to improve efficiency, and Hazel is always great with ideas on increasing employee morale. Our test kitchen is always going; sometimes, we come up with drinks that we can brag about, sometimes, the laughter of the faces made lasts all day. For us, it is the creativity of coffee, the fun of social media, and the drive to ensure you have the experience we would want to have that brings us joy. We aren’t interested in taking from others, rather we celebrate their successes.

I encouraged my friend to do the same. To remind herself that when her neighbors make a unique drink, she needs to take a moment to accept that it is difficult for them to branch out and to recognize the fact that they finally did. When she sees drink after drink that is clearly straight from her menu, she has to think of it as a reminder that she loves the craft. Yes, it is a business, but for people like us, it is personal. For us, our drinks are made with love. Rather than take offense, she needs to be grateful that she has been gifted with a passion. It is unfortunate that they do not have the same love of coffee as she.

As we spoke, I reminded her that our customers are perceptive. They notice when a particular drink has been a mainstay on our menu and then appears on a competitor's specials board. While it's true that familiarity may initially pique their interest, it's also inevitable that they will begin to discern the resemblances. It's essential for us to continually strive to offer the best product. I’m grateful for our talk. It rejuvenated the competitor in me. We're committed to ensuring that Calamity's Coffee remains synonymous with quality, passion, and dedication to community. Your unwavering support motivates us to maintain our competitive edge and uphold our pursuit of excellence. We sincerely appreciate your ongoing support and loyalty, and promise to push ourselves to be better.