My Supplier Quit Today

I’m a buyer and seller of things. Until today, I was successfully running a passive online business bringing in enough cash to fund my current 4-month trip to Asia, all in five minutes a day or less. Sounds pretty ideal, right? It was — until my supplier quit and my business went to zero.

But through the experience I learned one very important lesson, which applies equally in business and in life: never let someone else become your competitive advantage.

My supplier relationship was all I had to offer to customers; with him gone, I had nothing left to offer. I was ignoring my own value-adding abilities and simply became a middleman between someone providing real value and someone seeking it. I wasn’t being a creator, even though that’s what I set out to be.

So I’m re-evaluating my business’, and my life’s, model with one simple phrase: internalize your competitive advantage. Don’t rely on market stability, new or existing innovations, buyers or suppliers, natural conditions, or anything else to allow your business to flourish. Take control of your business (and your life) and let your decisions — not your situation — determine your success.