Whenever I hear someone say, “The market is too saturated. We won’t be successful,” I shake my head. I groan under my breath. Catch me in the right moment, and I’ll get heated.
I find that to be ridiculous.
Here’s why that’s the dumbest phrase anyone could possibly say about their business:
Every single market, in some way, shape, or form, is “saturated.” Very, very rarely are you the lone pioneer waltzing into brand new territory, unscathed from the journey. It just doesn’t happen. You don’t step foot onto untouched, lush land. Even the most fertile markets have already been inhabited–it’s just, sometimes the inhabitants don’t even realize the value of the land they’re inhabiting.
Those who sit back waiting to find a part of the earth (metaphorically speaking) that has yet to be explored, almost always tend to waste more time than they do acquire the capitalizing position they’re hoping for. Because they’re looking for something that, in all honesty, doesn’t really exist.
Second, and much more importantly, nothing incredible was ever built off the premise that, “Well, there’s not too much competition so, we’ll win by default.”
What a pathetic mindset to begin with.
Do you really think Michael Jordan woke up one day and said to himself, “You know what? Basketball isn’t that saturated of a sport. I think I’ll pursue that, since I have the highest likelihood to succeed.”
No.
Do you think Steve Jobs sat in his garage and said, “Technology seems like the best bang for my buck. I figure, I’ll get in early since the market isn’t saturated yet.”
No.
Do you think any of the world’s greatest founders, musicians, athletes, innovators, and even explorers cared at all about how “saturated” the direction of their pursuit was?
Nope. Not in the slightest.
That’s because they weren’t driven by a calculated success rate. If anything, the odds were stacked against them. They just knew, deep down, they had what it took to be in the rare 1% that overcome what we call market saturation.
Now, here’s where most people would say, “Yeah, but what about being first to market? You don’t think companies like Uber reaped the benefits of being there first?”
Newsflash: Uber, Airbnb, Facebook, and just about every great idea ever manifested did not begin with a clear vision for the end. Uber didn’t even know what territory it was exploring for the first few years. Neither did Airbnb. It took a lot of navigating and wandering through the dark to even realize what it was they were going after.
There really was nothing “first” about it.
What aspiring entrepreneurs (aspiring anyone, really) don’t seem to understand is that the intention behind all these great ideas was a deep and genuine curiosity. You don’t become a power player, in any industry, without first acknowledging that the moment competition presents themselves, you will do whatever it takes to beat them.
Because it doesn’t matter if you’re first or last, you’re going to end up fighting for your spot on the top of the mountain regardless. And if you’re not driven by something deeper than “a better chance to succeed,” you could be the first one on that mountain, and the first one off.
People who end up succeeding don’t care who their competition is–they will find a way to win.
Which means, if you’re one of those people who chooses not to pursue an idea or an industry you’re genuinely interested in, just because it’s “too saturated,” then you don’t have what it takes to be great anyway.
That’s just the truth.