Whenever I speak about the importance of putting yourself out there before you even have a product created, I inevitably get asked about business copycats.
What if someone copies my idea?
What if I share what I’m doing and someone beats me to it?
Isn’t that a huge risk?
Here’s the thing about copycats: they can’t do it how you do it.
Take it from me. I have had many people in the field of “business advice for independent brands” copy exactly what I do and say. Honestly, the amount of Instagram posts alone that copy the words I say, in the format I say them, and attempt to mimic my voice, is laughable.
I say “laughable” because no one can be me. Just like I can’t be anyone else. And if I started to try to mimic my competitors, my fashion business would crumble. Because whether you like me or don’t like me, it’s your feeling about me that determines if you want to read my blog posts, receive my emails, or join my membership community.
No one can start posting their own version of “Dear Designer” Instagram posts in their feed in an attempt to copy my approach without looking foolish for so clearly trying to be someone they’re not.
And this is true for you too.
Unless you really have a patent-able product (most fashion products do not fall into that category), no one can copy your brand, your business, and your overall personality successfully.
That’s why I talk about the importance of having a brand personality and using it, always.
Because this is the thing that makes you, you. It’s the thing that makes you more than just another fashion brand. And it’s the thing that makes it so totally impossible for a copycat to completely steal your potential customers.
Customers are attracted (or not attracted) to your brand as much as they are (or aren’t) to your product. When you use your brand to distinguish who you are and what you stand for, business copycats become irrelevant. Because once they try to start copying that, they become that person in high school who always agreed with everyone and never had an opinion of their own. That person with whom your friendship never lasted because it was impossible to make a true connection.
Let the copycats be that kid from high school. You be you.
And watch whose business is the one to thrive.
Lots of love and encouragement,
