Become Your Own Boss: Tips for Starting and Growing Your Own Small Business
Aug 28, 2026 · 15 min · 8 segments
**What if someone else already has your business idea? Does that mean you’re too late?** Not at all. In this episode of *Become Your Own Boss*, Monica Allen challenges the pressure entrepreneurs feel…
There is a lot of conversation in entrepreneurship about being first, coming up with the big idea, creating something nobody's ever seen before, being innovative, being the first to market.
I had an opportunity to really explore this as it was a question posed to students in my digital marketing class last term.
While I do not remember the exact question, it was something along the lines of, is it more advantageous to be a first mover or to be a follower? I can't get back to the original question because our terms disappear from the portal once the course is completed.
But I can say this, when Ethan and I started Stuff for Greeks, we were not the first company selling Greek paraphernalia online.
And instead of looking at that and saying, well, somebody is already doing it, we looked at what they were doing and asked a different question.
We asked, where is the opportunity to do better? That question helped shape our business.
We wanted customers to have more confidence in what they were ordering, especially when they were purchasing something highly customized.
Before we put one stitch into a garment, we emailed the customer a proof and required their approval.
It's pretty much common in anything that you're getting customized, signage, whatever the case may be.
We wanted the entire customer experience from placing the order to opening the box to feel different.
I remember ordering a jacket from one of the top competitors at the time because we wanted to experience their process as customers.
There is a lot of conversation in entrepreneurship about being first, coming up with the big idea, creating something nobody's ever seen before, being innovative, being the first to market.
I had an opportunity to really explore this as it was a question posed to students in my digital marketing class last term.
While I do not remember the exact question, it was something along the lines of, is it more advantageous to be a first mover or to be a follower? I can't get back to the original question because our terms disappear from the portal once the course is completed.
But I can say this, when Ethan and I started Stuff for Greeks, we were not the first company selling Greek paraphernalia online.
And instead of looking at that and saying, well, somebody is already doing it, we looked at what they were doing and asked a different question.
We asked, where is the opportunity to do better? That question helped shape our business.
We wanted customers to have more confidence in what they were ordering, especially when they were purchasing something highly customized.
Before we put one stitch into a garment, we emailed the customer a proof and required their approval.
It's pretty much common in anything that you're getting customized, signage, whatever the case may be.
We wanted the entire customer experience from placing the order to opening the box to feel different.
I remember ordering a jacket from one of the top competitors at the time because we wanted to experience their process as customers.
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