Juicy episode alert!!! In this podcast episode, we talk about copycats.
I cover what to do if you think someone might be copying you, or you definitely know someone is copying you.
Is that you?
Let’s dive in!
There comes a time in every entrepreneur’s life where we start to suspect that maybe someone is ripping off our stuff.
They do say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, but as a business owner, it can be a really difficult thing to deal with because we don’t know if we should be protecting our intellectual property, or we might be worried about someone stealing our customers.
Ultimately, we need to have some form of strategy to deal with having someone’s stuff look a little too similar to our own, and that’s what I’m covering today.
This episode gives you some insights on how I deal with copycats, and strategies that you can borrow when it happens to you.
1. Treat it as a sign from the Universe
Having a copycat is a sign you’re doing something right.
The first step if you discover a copycat or someone tells you that you’ve got one, is to stop and give yourself a little pat on the back.
Celebrate it!!
Not only is this a sign of success, but it’s also a sign that someone else thinks that your message and your content is valuable… that’s worth celebrating first and foremost.
2. It could be a coincidence
I’ve actually had two separate instances within my own programs where someone has reached out to me to complain about a copycat. And because I’ve been coaching both, I can see that the thing that they’ve said the person has copied is actually a coincidence.
Especially for people in similar fields, it’s entirely possible for two people to come up with the same name for something, the same phrases, or the same model.
I’ve seen it enough times to know it to be true.
There are billions of people in the world, and a significant chunk of them are trying to help people achieve the same outcomes that you are helping people to achieve.
There’s room for a lot of coincidence in the world.
It’s possible that your ‘copycat’ hasn’t even paid attention to what you’re doing at all.
Often we are also learning from similar mentors, and we’ve taken something that we’ve learned from here and something that we’ve learned from there, to create something we feel is completely unique. You think your idea came out of nowhere, but we are all products of our environment.
It is totally reasonable to assume that someone else may have experienced those two things and put them together as well.
My default position when I hear someone has copied me these days is to assume it’s just a coincidence until it’s proven otherwise.
It’s a much easier way to approach it, I promise.
3. Be thankful for the contribution to the conversation
As an entrepreneur, you are creating a new way of thinking – whether it’s in business, health, healing, mindset or more. Isn’t it wonderful that there are other people out there who agree with you?
I know that there are coaches out there who say you have to have something unique and you have to be talking about your specific thing. But ultimately, if there are other people teaching feminine and connected ways of marketing your business, I celebrate that.
I love that we’re all contributing to that conversation!
Ultimately, not everyone is going to want to work with me, not everyone is going to resonate with the way that I talk about it.
Not everyone is out there teaching business in the same model as I am anyway. If someone is copying me, I’m actually grateful that at least I’m not alone in sharing my message. Isn’t that awesome?! I think it is!
4. You are unique
This is a big one. If you see someone doing something similar to you, or sharing similar messaging to you, ultimately you’re actually denying how unique YOU are and what YOU bring to the table.
If you discover someone else’s stuff and it looks similar to yours and it makes you feel uncomfortable, could it be that you are coming from lack or fear? Could it be that you’re worrying that you don’t have a unique value proposition beyond this THING or this COPY?
You are unique. You are valuable beyond that model that you came up with, beyond the name of that blog posts that you wrote, beyond that random sequence of words that you think is your unique tagline and no one else can use.
Acknowledge that there’s no one quite like you, and you are valuable beyond this thing.
Approach it with a belief in yourself, and the abundance you have to offer the world.
If they keep copying you, they will always be behind. You’re a leader and you have a unique perspective that no one will be able to replicate fully… not even if they copied every single thing you did.
5. Stop watching for them
Unfollow signs for money mindset around competition in business
Stop paying attention.
If it comes to your attention that someone may have copied something of yours, unfollow them, unsubscribe from the newsletter and just stop looking at it.
It can be very tempting to get obsessed with what that person is doing. The more you look for similarities between what you do and what they do, the more you will find them.
This approach allows you to create an energetic disconnect. You create a boundary when you stop watching them, which may actually stop the copying too!
You can even do a cord cutting exercise and really visualise letting go of all of those hooks and attachments between you and that person. It’s not a matter of telling them you’re breaking up with them or blocking them on Facebook. You just energetically disconnect and stop watching for it.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I’m not discrediting or discounting the protection of your intellectual property. If you have created something and there has been a serious breach of intellectual property, of course, take action in the way that you feel is fit for you. Particularly for the visual creatives out there – your photos and images are your IP, and you have a right to protect them.
I’m simply sharing my approach because I don’t think it’s worth my time or energy to focus on copycats.
Maybe one day, there will be a copycat that’s too similar or something that crosses a serious line. But even at this stage of my business, and knowing that people are using some of my specific terms and structures, I’m not going to give them any attention.
It’s just not worth it, and they just aren’t me.
It’s such a nice way to view it, and for me, it’s so powerful.
I am SOOOOO interested to hear your thoughts on this episode!! Come over to the Heart-Centred Soul-Driven Entrepreneurs Facebook group and let me know if you have any questions, thoughts, experiences or lightbulb moments to share!!! Just use #podcastaha and let me know you’re referring to episode 185.
Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.
