The Big Fish vs. Small Fish Debate

We’ve probably all heard this before: would you rather be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond? Well, what would you rather be? Is there a wrong answer? Did you just give it? While either way can work, I think there is a wrong attitude.

Mindset is so important. It alone guides you and really affects your outcome in life. Having the wrong mindset will kill you. And so can the answer to the big fish / small fish question.

Big Fish, Small Pond

Did you answer the question this way? If you’re like many of the “groupthink” online business owners, you did. And it’s potentially deadly.

Here’s my take on it. People who answer this are afraid of competition and are really not “get it done, go get it” type of people. Obviously, this is a blanket generalization and doesn’t work 100% of the time. But, it does summarize a lot of people who answer that question—perhaps even you.

Let me ask you this. What happens when another big fish jumps into that small pond? I bet most of the people who answered the question this way will immediate get scared and look for an empty pond to jump in.

The bigger issue is finding a pond with enough food in it. Sure, I could be the big fish in the “pink-blue-purple colored 8-track tape” niche, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be making money. Right?

I can hear someone now. “Yeah, but that’s dumb, because you look for a pond with money and then jump into it.” Ok, I got you. So how long is that going to take you? And how much money will you make? And how scalable is it? Will I need to be in 1,000 ponds to make good money or will one work?

Here’s the truth. If you find that magical small pond with lots of food in it and no other fish, it could be your ticket to something nice. The problem is most people aren’t able to find the pond, most people spend too much time trying to find what they can’t find, and most people limit themselves by taking this approach.

Small Fish, Big Ocean

If this was your answer, congrats. This is my answer as well. People who answer this way don’t shy away from competition.

As long as I can remember I’ve asked myself one question before doing anything: “Where is the money?”

When I reached adulthood (18), I remember talking to a co-worker who was also semi-business minded. He was older than me. I told him that I was interested in this or that in a large field (okay, it was the financial field).

His response was that it’s way too crowded and there’s a ton  of competition. Basically, his idea was to sell pet rocks because there was only a couple people doing it. And gee, why do you think that is?

I tried to explain that I don’t need to be a top guy in the field and just a “sip of the ocean” sets me up for life. But, it was easier to just pull out $2.75 and buy his pet rock.

BTW, don’t slam for for buying a pet rock. I’m just using that as an example for what he was really selling. Actually, that’s a good example of why spending most of your resources to sell fads is a dangerous thing.

Here’s an example. I know there’s lots of money in a certain niche. There’s also tons of competition. In fact, a main keyword for this niche returns some 7 million or so results. If I was a “big fish, small pond” guy, I’d run from this instantly. Instead, I put up a site, did some initial marketing and walked away. To this day it still brings in money. Am I on page one of Google for the keyword? Nope. How about page 2,3,4,5 or 6? Nope. The field is bursting with so much food, that I just need to throw my net out and I’ll catch some of it.

It’s real simple. If you see competition, it’s usually because there are buyers. If you see lots of competition and buyers, there’s lots of money. Some niches are so “cash rich” that you don’t need to be the next great thing to make money in them.

One word of caution. You need to be smart. There’s a lot of money in major industries like finance, health, travel, etc. However, it would be foolish to target the entire industry in general. Instead, you’d drill down some. My point is that you wouldn’t need to drill down for years trying to find that one magical niche within an industry that has a lot of cash potential and no competition. It’s great if you find it, but you don’t need to let competition stop you if the niche is loaded with buyers—unless you can’t provide what the buyers want.

Let me close with one last example of small fish, big pond thinking. I’ll use travel. This industry is loaded with competition—from people like you and me to actual governments. But, money is still there to be made.

Making a general travel site is not the best idea in the world, although it can still make money actually—I’ve done it.

You could drill down some and go either geographical or purpose or both. Here are a couple ideas:

1. Geographical: Italy
2. Purpose: Honeymoons
3. Both: Honeymoons in Italy

Competition? Yep. Money? Yep. Could you get a slice? Yep.

And yes, you could drill down further, like Rome vacations, honeymoons in Rome, hotels in Rome, hotels for lovers in Rome, and so on.

My whole business life has largely been spent as a small fish in a big pond. I’ve went to war in the most competitive industries we have. I actually enjoy it, because I enjoyed these industries, which means I enjoy what I’m doing. And that’s the most important thing for me.

How about you? Are you a small fish, big pond or big fish, small pond kind of person? Are you both? What do you prefer?