The Benefits + Dangers of Competition: 10 Major Keys to Remember

competition: the opposite of cooperation. It arises whenever at least two parties strive for a goal which cannot be shared or which is desired individually but not in sharing and cooperation. 


Having started #100BusinessGirls in 2011, I sometimes question if it's still necessary. When our meetups first started it was new and exciting. There were only a few groups like ours and we were niche. Well now that niche is no more. And while that's a great thing, it can be daunting if you're someone that has a competitive mindset. It's natural. It's one of the main things that you're taught in Marketing and Business 101. But is having a competitive spirit really healthy?

Competition can be empowering, it can keep your ideas fresh and business interesting. It keeps you sharp, determined, maybe even driven. You can learn from where your competition has failed. Most of all, when others enter your market or niche, it provides validity to the problem you want to solve.


 The Benefits + Dangers of Competition 

1. Competition can be empowering, it can keep your ideas fresh and business interesting.
2. Competition keeps you sharp, determined and driven.
3. You can learn from where your competition has failed.

4. When others enter the market, it provides validity to the problem you want to solve.

Focus on Your Own Race

5. Your ego is your biggest competitor. It will keep you from accomplishing your goals and keep you in a state of comfort. Comfort is your default setting that you need to break out of and continuously add things to make you grow stronger. You must master the ability to quiet your ego. So for every negative thought, combat it with two positive thoughts. With practice this will become a habit.

6. In our daily interactions with social media, we can get bombarded by individuals sharing their pictures and good news. Don’t look at individuals as your competition. Don’t believe the hype of the pictures being painted for likes. This will create the spirit of envy because maybe your life doesn’t look like their pictures, and neither does theirs. There are social media strategies and systems that are put into place to earn followers and likes strictly for the purpose of building social media clout. What you want is longevity. Longevity will sustain your business past the latest social media trends.

7. Hating your “competition” only has a negative impact on your well-being. Your goal should always be to focus on the people you serve (audience, customers) because those are the people who believe in what you have to offer.

8. Operate from a perspective of ‘Plenty’. There is enough to go around for everyone.

9.  Instead of seeing "competitors" see them as potential partners and allies. No one will understand your journey more than someone taking a journey similar to yours.

10. When you’re brainstorming new ideas, stay off social media. Social media cleanses can be a great way to set new goals and execute those ideas. They can vary from 24 hours to how ever much time you need.

Ask yourself these questions:

  • Do you think competition is healthy in business? 
  • Have you ever doubted yourself based on what others were able to accomplish? 
  • What are some ways having competition has helped you succeed? Or has it ever? 


Written by: Jamillah Y. Johnson
jamillah@100businessgirls.com


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The Clearest Explanation On Money + the Law of Attraction (1 HR, 10 MIN)



Change your mindset, change your life. Take some time out and watch this eye-opening video. I highly recommend it. You will learn how we have been conditioned to place limits ourselves and how we can overcome that way of thinking + more.

Let's Do Brunch! Philly Meetup -- Saturday, May 14th *new date + time

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Saturday, May 7th  Saturday, May 14th *new date
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Event: Let's Do Brunch! NYC Meetup -- Saturday, April 9th


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Are You Truly Inspired or Just Following the Crowd?




Nothing sparks more debate than Beyonce performing on television. It's never her classy subdued, ballad singing operatic ones, just the bold, brash, I'm sexy and I know it, move out my way, I'm about to kill it with an army of dancers ones. And you can never be critical, not online anyway. Beyonce's fans are like a mob of Johnnie Cochrans just waiting to defend their queen.

There's no problem in sticking up for your favorite artists. The problem lies when you are so closed minded you fail to listen to the truth. You fail to understand that everyone isn't being a hater and that it's okay to look beneath the surface.

You should know when you are being marketed to. You should know when something has been crafted to shape your opinion. Critical thinking is a skill we start learning in elementary school. The problem is that some of us fail to tap into it.

So when you say you are inspired, what are you truly inspired by or are you just saying that because something looks good and everyone else is saying it's great?

The amount of work and strategy that it takes to perform and craft something unforgettable that will have people talking way past 15 minutes, is what can inspire you. Beyond jumping on social media to share a pic or to join in on praise to show you are down, you should be taking down notes.

It takes vision, seeing what those before you have done, creating a strategy, and then going forward. Nobody just wakes up great. There is a method.

How do you plan to "slay" past 15 minutes or do you care more about the likes from the crowd?


1. Decide what do you want to accomplish? What will the end goal look like? How do you want people to feel?/How do you want to feel when all is said and done?

2. Who has done it before you and how did they go about it?

3. What inspired you about your predecessors? What did they get right/wrong?

4. Craft your strategy.

5. Gather those who can help you, if necessary.

6. Execute

7. Go over what you learned.






- Jamillah Y. Johnson





10 Strategies for Tapping Into Your Magic


This past Monday, we celebrated Martin Luther King Day hosting our first ever Lunch Social (we usually have brunch on weekends). It was also Center City Restaurant Week, so we were able to meet at Del Frisco's and enjoy a 3 course lunch for just $20.

Our topic of the day was "Tapping Into Your Magic" and I just wanted to share some helpful tips that were discussed at the table and here they are:


1. Stop worrying about things that don’t matter or that you have no control over the outcome.

2. Connect with what you already have inside of you. Whatever dream you have, know you came fully equipped to make it a reality. If you feel you lack the skills, you have the ability to acquire whatever it is you need.

3. Live an inspired and authentic life by being who you truly are and doing things that make you feel good.

4. Trusting in your dreams will help you let go of self-doubt. For every negative thought, think of two positive ones to shut that down.

5. Don’t Panic – Evaluate your current progress not where you want to be in five years. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself with how much further you need to go.

6. Failure is not the end - Think like a 1 year old – when you couldn’t walk, you fell, got back up, and tried again and again until you mastered it.

7. Focus on what goes right – Things will always not go according plan, but think of all the times things have worked out for you.

8. Don’t listen to other people’s negative opinions concerning your goals, unless that opinion is advice to improve your chances of a successful outcome.

9. Work for your dreams and be persistent.

10. Nothing is new under the sun. Read about those that came before you, and charter your own ship.

Bonus Tip: Just go for it and see what happens. You won’t know the outcome unless you try. Take a big goal and break it into segments and conquer each one, one at a time.



- Jamillah Y. Johnson