What you say is very true Bob, the big defining difference is when you have no tangible competition you will ultimately fail mainly due to complacency and losing the need to diversify.

It's a bit like pulling an apple out of a barrel full of apples that got there when the season was good.....eventually the barrel will be empty and now you have to look for other sources of nourishment and be more clever in your endeavours.

In this day and age going into business is a very battle plan scenario...…..equipped with the wrong weapons and you can be beaten by a 10 year old child with a catapult and a walnut.....ask Goliath what he thinks of David now.

Every time I see adverts for exotic tooling and machines that cost more than the 60's space program and you will understand that the other guy will be doing what you hesitate to do and win every time...…..it's a race to the end to be the most productive for the least cost...…..quality is a by word for reality waiting to happen...…..equip with the wrong tooling and they will sell off your assets at 10 cents in the dollar when you close the doors for the last time.

It would be great to have a product that nobody thought of and cannot make because only you understand the concept and don't have an infrastructure that needs to continue to expand just to be competitive...…..the car industry is an example of this...…….how many times have I read of very successful car companies that were once totally ahead of the race and then drown in the field of competitive production...….that is because the fickle public like the shine of a coat of paint and choose to change their likes and dislikes at the drop of a hat.

But.....when your game plan is set on a level playing field and you have to compete on an unlevel playing field you will fail every time, that is evolution at it's most supreme example.

What I'm driving at is if you want to play hard ball with the other guy you will need to be better in the rules if they exist or make the rules to suit your needs...…...for example the system of unilaterally applying tariffs to exports is one way to level the playing field......sauce for the Goose is also sauce for the Gander.

BTW….the goal of any company, be it a one man show or a large corporation is to make money.....that and nothing else...….anything else is a recipe for bankruptcy.
Ian.