While it’s natural to carry some disdain for those with whom you’re fighting for dollars, a better approach is to embrace competition and use it as motivation to keep your business fresh and interesting, the Entrepreneur.com article “Why Hating the Competition Will Get You Nowhere” explains.

You can dislike your competition all you want, but it’s not going to make your business any better. However, competition should motivate you to make your business better. Specifically, it forces you to focus on differentiation and execution. You must be able to clearly articulate and deliver your differentiation to succeed in a cutthroat marketplace. What makes you different and better than the competition? If you can’t answer that question, you better figure it out, or else you’re going to be in trouble. Perhaps you don’t have much competition in your area and you’re doing pretty well, but that could change in an instant. You’re going to have to step up your game if a new salon moves in tomorrow.

Along with pushing you to differentiate, a little competition can actually be beneficial in several ways:

Brings validity to the space. When there are several competing businesses in your local area, it validates your industry as a whole to your market. And even if it’s coming from a competitor, any promotion of tanning to your potential customers is a good thing.

Allows you to learn from their mistakes. If you’re keeping a close eye on the competition, as you should be, you’ll be able to see them make some strategic errors and avoid making the same ones yourself.

Makes you a more nimble entrepreneur. It’s the American way! Competition should inspire you to be more sharp, determined and driven, and make your business the best it can be.

Click here to read the entire article from Entrepreneur.com.