4 Oct 2026 · 4 min
A shift from viewing peers as rivals to seeing them as niche mates: collaborators in the same space who help each other grow. The speaker reached out to a competitor, expressed genuine admiration, and set up a referral system for clients that don't fit. There's enough for everyone.
I used to look her up every week. Same kind of work, same people to reach. I counted her followers, then counted mine, and I called up my Competition. I used to read every post he made and wonder what was left for me to say. He had a family to feed like mine, still I called him my competition. Rich mates, not competitors. We make a bigger pie together. Mishmash, not competitors. More than enough for everyone. Like 10 restaurants on one street, side by side. Nobody stops, the crowd grows every night. So I wrote her a message just to say I admire your work. No favor to ask. Niche mates, not competitors. We make a bigger pie together. Niche mates, not competitors. Not competitors, more than enough for everyone. She wrote back, I've been watching you, counting your faux followers too. Now when a client isn't right for me, I send them to him and he sends some to me. Niche mates, not competitors. We make a bigger pie together. Niche mates, not competitors. More than enough for everyone. More than enough for everyone.
"Be of good cheer. Think not of today's failures, but of tomorrow's successes...”
