If You Have to Compete You've Already Lost

I never liked job fairs. The idea of standing in line like a bunch of cattle getting ready to be slaughtered, putting up fake smiles to other students who think they might have a chance of beating you to the offer but return a grin anyway, and then handing resumes to corporate hiring staff in hopes that they may select me out of an entire pool of people just because of what was written on paper, all seemed rather repulsive.
That is competition. Working on my research skillfully, getting published, and networking with people in my niche, on the other hand, landed me several unexpected phone calls asking for me to start careers at various places. That is not competition-that's the way you want things to be.
Many new entrepreneurs put their focus in the wrong place and either get too overwhelmed to start, or they end up in the business graveyard with other unsuccessful entrepreneurs, largely because of inadequate focus to the business model.
When a fledgling entrepreneur finds a niche that he's interested in, say "coffee makers," a quick browse on Ebay or Amazon.com shows that thousands of sellers pervade the market, all selling similar items at rock bottom prices. "How could I ever compete with them?" he asks. To offer lower prices, one would need to be large enough to take advantage of economies of scale, which many new entrepreneurs aren't. So what does he do about this proverbial "chicken and egg" problem? Well, he's asking the wrong question.
As a smaller player (at least initially), you should never have to "compete," as you'll get squashed by the larger players, who can offer lower prices, more features, and ubiquitous branding through advertising campaigns. The good news is, you don't need those things to win. You need to develop a razor sharp focus on how you deliver value to people in a unique way.
Not long ago I attended a conference where master internet entrepreneur Eben Pagan spoke about how to know if your business concept will succeed. I thought he was going to talk about how to select or create a great product at a great price or to beat the competition, but instead I learned three profound points:

1. You must be in a niche in which a customer feels intense pain or irrational desire for something. Sure, people don't by lettuce because they have an irresistible craving for it, yet it sells. It's a commodity, however, and it will only sell at the lowest price possible. You never want to have to sell to someone, convince them, and compete for their attention with other players in your niche-you want them to be running to you for a solution. An example of a service for an irrational desire may be style consulting. Some people want to do whatever it takes to impress their boss for a new job or someone they want to ask out for Friday night. An example of a product for an intense pain point may be products to enhance sleep (bedding, lighting, sound effects, etc.). In America people have multiple jobs, endless responsibilities and are severely lacking the ability to relax and fall asleep (if they even have the time to). They are looking for anything that will make them feel better.