My brother bought a wheel alignment business in the Karoo about a year ago, in a town where business owners could easily while away the time in monopolistic bliss. And rosy were my sibling’s prospects – until the previous owner (to whom my brother paid good money) opened another workshop in town and equipped it with the very latest in wheel alignment technology. It was enough to dazzle prospective customers. And release the fighting spirit of my brother.

The competition forced him to think really hard about additional services that he could offer his customers. For example, as his alignment technician had some experience as a mechanic, they discussed whether he could fix simple wheel-related problems too. The technician was delighted to have more variation in his day and customers now enjoy a one-stop wheel service. My brother dropped his prices slightly and probably makes less money now than he initially expected, but he is constantly coming up with new ideas to increase customer loyalty.

People react differently to competition. Some view business as a zero-sum game, in which it’s best to completely eliminate your opponent and carry away the entire bounty. By definition, this is destructive competition. Some actively seek out competition, narcissistically needing to always win to boost their self-esteem. Others are quite happy to exist without competition, but when faced with this particular challenge, they use the competition to:

• Adjust their ideas about what is possible (raise the bar)
• Bring out the best in themselves
• Help them find their own niche
• Test their commitment
• Be part of an evolutionary process (better products and services at lower prices)
• Confirm their belief that there’s enough for everyone

After all, the root of the word ‘compete’ means ‘to seek or to strive with someone’. And with competitors sharing so much common ground, there are many examples of initial rivals turning into very good friends – after having created a more efficient and affordable industry.