Have you ever come across a new product that another small business came out with that caught you off guard because it looked so similar… Only for you to then realize that they copied one of your products almost EXACTLY?
Or has another business ever used one of your photos, one of your Instagram posts or something else that you designed or created?
In this week's episode of Quick Tip Wednesday, I'll be sharing the mindset to have in these situations and how to step in the CEO role of your business and handle this situation with confidence.
When you finish listening, I'd love to hear your biggest takeaway from today’s episode. Take a screenshot of the episode you're listening to, share it to your Instagram stories and tag me @monicalittlecoaching - or send me a DM!
While you're there, make sure you follow me so you can see behind the scenes of how I grew my handmade organic skincare small business to multiple six-figures... and how you can grow and scale your business, too.
LEARN MORE FROM MONICA LITTLE
Website:www.monicalittlecoaching.com
Instagram: @monicalittlecoaching
My small business: www.shopplantbasedbeauty.com
Have you ever come across a new product that another small business came out with that caught you off guard because it looked so similar… Only for you to then realize that they copied one of your products almost EXACTLY?
Or has another business ever used one of your photos, one of your Instagram posts or something else that you designed or created?
In this week's episode of Quick Tip Wednesday, I'll be sharing the mindset to have in these situations and how to step in the CEO role of your business and handle this situation with confidence.
When you finish listening, I'd love to hear your biggest takeaway from today’s episode. Take a screenshot of the episode you're listening to, share it to your Instagram stories and tag me @monicalittlecoaching - or send me a DM!
While you're there, make sure you follow me so you can see behind the scenes of how I grew my handmade organic skincare small business to multiple six-figures... and how you can grow and scale your business, too.
LEARN MORE FROM MONICA LITTLE
Website:www.monicalittlecoaching.com
Instagram: @monicalittlecoaching
My small business: www.shopplantbasedbeauty.com
Monica Little: Hello and welcome to episode 31 of the Product Biz Podcast. My name is Monica Little and I'm so excited for this week's episode of Quick Tip Wednesday. We're gonna be talking about what do you do if someone copies one of your products?
[00:00:17] Quick tip Wednesday. Let me give you a brief overview. These are 10 to 15 minute episodes every other week where I wanna talk through something really tangible, really tactical, really action oriented, so you walk away with some insights that you can actually apply to your business. So today we're gonna talk about if someone copies one of your products.
[00:00:39] So maybe you can relate to this, that you came across a new product that someone's offering and it kind of caught you off guard. You almost did like a double take because something went off in your brain saying, holy shit, that looks familiar. And when you look a little deeper, you notice. [00:01:00] That this person, this other small business, may have copied your product or a portion of your product or a design element of your product.
[00:01:11] Or maybe you have photos on your Instagram and you notice another small business has used one of your photos. There are so many instances where this type of situation can happen. Where we are small business owners, we pour our heart and soul into everything that we do, into our products, into the research, into the packaging, into the design, into our Instagram posts, and then we see someone who.
[00:01:36] It feels like they just took what we did, put their own name on it and are claiming that it's theirs without any acknowledgement or any credit to what you actually did first. Right. For me, I have a specific example of this where I remember clicking onto someone's Etsy shop just to browse and buy from them and seeing [00:02:00] not.
[00:02:01] Not two, but three products, new products that this small business had that were almost identical to mine. Identical. And I had that double take moment kind of like, are you kidding me? Moment? Like, oh my God, did I really just see that? What's going on type of moment and. I posted about this on Instagram.
[00:02:24] This happened quite a few months ago, but the amount of people that commented and said that they have had similar things happen to them made me realize that this needs to be a topic that we talk about on the podcast because it does happen really frequently for small business owners, and I want you to feel equipped on how to handle these situations.
[00:02:46] What I want to say off the bat, now that we understand the situation that's happening is, number one, this is really, really, really common. The fact of the matter is, as small business owners, most of us don't have [00:03:00] something that's proprietary. We don't have a patent, so that means if I'm making skincare, someone else, Can make skincare that could have a very similar formula to mine.
[00:03:10] If you make candles, someone else may find the same vessel and start to sell candles in the same type of vessel that you do. There is this unfortunate matter of fact that we don't have patents on what we make so people can easily see what we do and copy. What I want to remind you of and I, what I want this episode to mostly focus on is how you react to these situations, because it's gonna happen.
[00:03:39] It has happened. If it hasn't happened to you yet, it probably will happen. But how you show up when this happens is really what makes a difference. What I want to remind you as small business owners, the reason people buy from you is because of. Because you're the owner. It's your passion behind the product.
[00:03:59] It's [00:04:00] your why. It's your story, it's your uniqueness. It's you showing up and talking about your products every single day with this excitement because you love them, and you just want more people to experience your products. It's your voice. It's your authentic connection that you create with your customers.
[00:04:17] It's your background, it's your mission. Those are the reasons why people buy from small businesses. The truth is, like I was saying, most of our stuff isn't proprietary. So someone could easily go to c v s, go to Walmart, they could buy some skincare that promises the same effects that my skincare promises probably for cheaper.
[00:04:35] They could probably get it faster. They could buy it on Amazon for two day shipping, spend less money, get it faster. But these customers buy for me for a reason, right? They buy because. Of us as the owners and our story and what we share and our passion and love behind it. So what I want to mention to you here is if you notice someone copies something of yours, a [00:05:00] design a product, an Instagram post.
[00:05:03] The truth is they can copy all that they want, but they can't copy your connection with your customers. What you may not realize is most people buy from small business owners because they're connecting with you. The owner, they connect with the reason why you started your business. They connect with your story, with your background.
[00:05:25] They connect with the passion you have for your products and the mission behind your business. They specifically connect with you and your uniqueness, and the key here is no one can copy. Not one person can copy your story, your background, your passion for your business. So I'm a big believer that if someone copies you, I know the first gut reaction and the first time it happened to me is to be angry and to be upset, and to call them out and to send a mean nasty message.
[00:05:59] But [00:06:00] you have to remember that when they copy. They're not going to get the same effect customers can see right through products that aren't authentic. If someone copies one of your products, customer is gonna know based on how that owner shows up and talks about the product. If they're not in, if they're not passionate, if they, this isn't something that came from their heart.
[00:06:26] So if customers can pick up on that, and if someone is copying you, and if that small business owner is only growing their business by copying other people, well, sooner or later that small business will hit a wall not knowing what else to copy, right? They haven't found their own voice, they haven't found their own passion and purpose just yet, but your business will continue to grow with your authentic story behind it and with the genuine connection that you have with your customer.
[00:06:54] This is one of the biggest mindset shifts that you can have. People are going to copy, [00:07:00] people are going to see what you do and pick apart pieces of it and take it for their own. But we need to be so rooted in our purpose for our business, in our unique connection with our customers, that that literally doesn't shake.
[00:07:18] I love this metaphor of we have to be like a tree. A tree with a trunk that has roots in the ground, that our branches and our leaves might sway in the wind. But we're so rooted that it's not gonna shake us. It's not gonna create this emotional response. We're not gonna get angry. We're not gonna get pissed off.
[00:07:37] We are just gonna know, okay, you know what? This is fine because I am. The heart of my business and people connect with me, and as long as I am here being authentic and genuine with my products, I'm not worried about what anyone else is doing. I'm just worried about my growth. I'm worried about my connection with my customers.
[00:07:56] I'm worried about me, and if someone else wants to take pieces of it and [00:08:00] copy it, . I wish them the best of luck because it's a lot harder than it looks, right? They can copy the candle vessel, they can copy the skincare formula, the ingredients in it. They can copy your label design, but they can't copy how you show up and talk about your products.
[00:08:15] And this is one of the biggest mindset shifts that we can have as small business owners is to not let that get. and instead let it fuel you to show up more, to show up more boldly to show up and build that connection with your customers to an even stronger level. This also comes up in a situation where a lot of people are nervous of teaching people how to make their products.
[00:08:40] So I hear this a lot inside product. This academy, when we're working on hiring for a lot of the small business owners in the program, they're hiring their first employee who's gonna help them make product. And they're like, well, you know what? If this person, now they know how I make my products, what if they go and start their own business with my formula?
[00:08:58] And there's a couple things, right? Number one, [00:09:00] have a contract with a clause in it that says, you're not allowed to take my formulas, right? Let's cover ourselves in that way. And there should be some additional details in that contract to cover you. Right? But this is. Same exact scenario where I tell my clients like, you know what?
[00:09:17] If they take your formula and copy it, good luck to them. If they're not small business owners, if they don't know all the work that goes into it, if they don't know all the money that goes into it, all the branding, all the every single piece that goes into it, if they wanna take your formula and think that they can just magically create this six figure business out of nowhere, just cuz they have this formula, what they're gonna be in for a rude awakening.
[00:09:41] Right. And it's a lot more work. I don't ever once worry about with any of my employees, of them stealing or running with my formula for those two reasons. Number one, a contract in place that says they're not allowed to. And number two, if they did, if they did the amount of work that [00:10:00] goes into it to actually sell that product and build that business, it's probably gonna defer them that they won't get too far with.
[00:10:09] So what I wanna leave you with is this amazing quote that just summarizes everything that we talked about. And someone mentioned this to me on Instagram, and I've never heard it before, and I'm like, this is the best quote ever. And the quote is, they can steal your recipe, but the sauce won't taste the same.
[00:10:28] And that couldn't be any more true if you think. Someone in your family. I'm thinking of my mother-in-law who has this awesome pecan pie recipe that she makes every single Christmas. She could give me the recipe and I could totally try to make it on my own, but it wouldn't turn out the same because she's made it so many times.
[00:10:48] She knows what to look for while she's making it. She knows what tweaks to make if something isn't coming together as expected, because she's done it over and over and over and over again. So I could steal [00:11:00] her recipe, but the, but it wouldn't taste the. and it would take me a really, really, really, really long time of trial and error to get anywhere close to what her actual pecan pie is like.
[00:11:13] so this is what I wanna leave you with. If someone ever copies anything of yours, just know they can steal the recipe, but the sauce won't taste the same. It's you that customers are buying from. It's you. That is a differentiator in your business. It's your uniqueness, and nobody can steal that. And I want you to be so rooted in yourself and so rooted in your business that things like this don't even phase you because you are trailblazing your own path.
[00:11:41] You have bigger dreams, bigger goals. There's no point in even getting caught up in this pettiness that happens because you are trailblazing your dreams and that's where your focus is, and that's what I want to leave you. . So if this has ever happened to you, I would love for you to reach out to me on [00:12:00] Instagram.
[00:12:00] My Instagram handle is Monica Little Coaching. And just let me know your thoughts. Did this episode resonate? Has this happened to you? Is this a little bit of a mindset shift on maybe how you would've approached it previously? But I love to hear from you on Instagram. I share a lot more content on there.
[00:12:15] So if this episode was a winner for you, then please say hello on Instagram and we'll continue the conversation there. But thank you so much. For listening to this week's episode of Quick Tip Wednesday on the Product Biz Podcast, and I will see you next week. Thank you so much for hanging out with me here inside the Product Biz Podcast.
[00:12:35] If you love this episode, don't forget to subscribe and to leave a five star review. And if you're interested in learning more about Product Biz Academy, my signature group coaching program for handmade small business owners like you who are looking to create consistent online sales with their business, then go to the product biz podcast.com to join the wait list.
[00:12:58] Doors are currently closed, but you'll [00:13:00] be first notified when they reopen. Thank you so much, and I'll see you on the next episode of the Product Biz Podcast.