“Be like a postage stamp, stick to something until you get there.” Josh Billings Large scale well organized armies have a tough time with unconventional warfare. During our war of independence, the British sadly learned what a small band of snipers could do against columns of brightly attired Red Coats. Our tactics so upset the Crown’s Generals that the we were accused of being cowardly and afraid to fight in the open, like gentlemen and abiding by the then rules of war. Such are the lessons of the small attacking the large –which well apply to competitive wars of business. Such David and Goliath tactics are seen as finding a special market niche or doing what David’s size prevents. Think about it, if you aim at finding customers that have needs the big boys don’t want to bother with because it is not practical or profitable on a massive scale, you may well strike pay dirt. Take retailing, the giants such as Wal-Mart, are not flexible, they are geared to the masses not individual tastes. Smart retailers faced with fighting these monsters have attacked with extended hours, delivery services, special merchandise, and super attention to the customer. Small manufacturing companies often find they can compete against the large companies with their focus on high volume products aimed at mass national markets. A mass-market management philosophy is the bible of the fortune 500. And well beyond your resources so do not copy their management style or tactics, or you will soon be out of business. If you are a retailer, there is no way you can upstage the Walton family. Instead, parlay your advantage of local and flexible management as a way to survive against the giants. Here is a unique situation of the commonplace becoming the unusual. In a local community near the foothills of the Catskill Mountains in New York, there is a nondescript, somewhat aging luncheonette recently purchased by a transplant from Manhattan- more accustomed to dealing with show biz execs than the coffee and roll breakfast crowd. But being an innovative entrepreneur the new owner- after a few months of business as usual- a bit above slow- came up with a marketing gimmick. A tactic the local restaurant chains would not even consider. Our enterprising owner hit the local papers with a small ad announcing, “Friday and Saturday Open 24 Hours.” When I saw the ad, my first reaction was that is a different approach-not open 24 hours all week, only on the weekend. Curious, about this unique entrepreneurial tactic, I stopped in one morning and had a revealing chat with the owner. His open all night for the bar closing crowd is a moneymaker, as he told me that he does more business at 3 AM Sunday morning than most weekday lunches. I was impressed, as here is a case of a local entrepreneur, facing tough competition- there is no shortage or eateries in the area- taking the commonplace and making it unusual. Instead of resigning his fate to marginal earnings – he tried something different. And in his case if worked. A great lesson for any entrepreneur battling against the fortune 500- try something different, something that the inflexibility of big business can’t do as well as you. If you have ever worked for one of the giants you know that change requires ten levels of management approval and a dozen committee meetings. So if you are struggling do not and I emphasis don’t every utter the words “I can’t compete” don’t make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead analyze your situation, Take some quiet time, a note pad a pencil or two and start a list of why your customers buy from you, Use the general headings of “ service, quality, and value” as a start. Under each heading –service for example- prepare a detailed list how your business provides service. Making such lists –not easy- is important to develop your war plans. If you dig deep you will discover your strengths, and your strengths, may be your competition’s weakness. As you are fighting for survival, do not treat this task lightly, you have the answers it takes time to discover them. Once your homework is done, look at how you cater and advertise to your market. Are you parlaying your strengths, or copying the big guys because you assume they have all the answers? What works for Wal-Mart and Microsoft will not work for you. You have built a unique business - because you are unique- discover it and promote it. P.S. Let me take a moment for a bit of self puffery, This is my 200th column, as an old retired entrepreneur and business prof, I have surprised myself that I could find so much to write about, anyway thanks for reading my “stuff.” Copyright 2004 Dr. Paul E Adams, Professor Emeritus Business Administration Ramapo College of New Jersey Author “ Fail Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful.” Available Amazon.Com. If you have questions or comments- contact me: drfailproof@earthlink.net