In today’s digital marketplace, starting a small business has never been easier, and yet succeeding has never been harder. Whether you’re selling handmade goods, offering digital downloads, or running a service-based company, the challenges feel familiar: oversaturated marketplaces, copycat competitors, viral trends that revolve around copyright or IP infringement, and customers conditioned to expect bargain-basement pricing.
But here’s the truth most business owners learn the hard way:
You don’t have to compete in a race to the bottom, and you don’t have to rely on risky “viral” shortcuts to be successful!
There is a better, and more sustainable, path.
The Reality: Oversaturation Makes Everything Look the Same
Platforms like Etsy, TikTok, and Amazon have made entrepreneurship accessible, but they’ve also created an environment where thousands of shops sell the exact same thing. Trends move fast, and once a product catches fire, the marketplace is instantly flooded with copycats.
The result?
-Customers get overwhelmed.
-Prices get driven down.
-Quality becomes an afterthought.
-Creativity is replaced by “what’s trending right now.”
This doesn’t just hurt established businesses, it hurts the entire ecosystem.
Don't get us wrong we have a few subscriptions to sell some of the "cool" functional and decorative things that people want to see but that is not our bread and butter. We also do not race to the bottom price wise.
The Race to the Bottom: Why Competing on Price Doesn’t Work
In an oversaturated space, many small businesses try to beat competitors by offering the lowest price. It feels logical at first… until it isn’t.
Because price-based competition only leads to one place:
🛑 Lower profits
🛑 Lower quality
🛑 Higher stress
🛑 Unsustainable growth
When customers choose you only because you’re the cheapest, they’ll leave the moment someone else drops their price by fifty cents. It's a hard but necessary truth to face.
Pricing should reflect skill, time, materials, expertise, overhead, customer service, and long-term value, not who can make the least profit.
We will never be the cheapest and we don't want to be. We charge based on a scale that reflects our talent, skill, the time it takes to print, the material usage, and much more. We price our subscription items much cheaper because anyone and everyone can print those. Not anyone and everyone can print a lot of the other things we print. Many cannot even successfully print the materials we regularly use. You can stand out, you do not have to follow the trends or fall into the viral traps.
The Viral Trap: Copyright & IP Infringement
Another massive issue in modern small business culture is the rise of viral products that rely on:
-trademark misuse
-copyrighted characters
-stolen designs
-unlicensed fan art
-brand look-alikes
These items go viral precisely because they piggyback off the reputation of someone else’s work. But that comes with consequences:
-Takedowns
-Removed listings
-Legal action
-Destroyed shops
-Frozen funds
-Loss of customer trust
It’s risky, unethical, and ultimately unsustainable. Viral fame is fleeting, but legal trouble lasts.
We understand how desirable it can be to piggy back on the fame and reputation of the NFL teams, Disney Characters, and Horror Characters, especially when they are what everyone is asking for. We also understand how difficult it is to stay within the legal bounds when everyone else is "doing the same thing" and filling those orders with the unlicensed art.
If you want to make things for those brands try to get partnered with businesses authorized to obtain merch or props related to what they are selling such as authorized escape rooms or apply to become an authorized vendor for the brands you value most. A great example of this is Texas Tech University. They offer the ability to become a vendor for them and use their branding in your items.
You can also find items that are not controversial and still succeed.
The Good News: Ethical, Original Businesses Can Still Win
Despite the challenges, there are thousands of small businesses thriving without undercutting prices or copying what’s trending. Why? Because they focus on what actually builds longevity:
1. Original, High-Quality Products or Services
Quality still matters. Expertise still matters. Real craftsmanship still matters. Unique work is hard to compete against. While people often say they want the cheapest, everyone wants good quality. The customers meant for you will find your quality and skill worth the cost.
2. Clear Branding + Professional Presentation
Your brand is more than a logo, it’s how people feel when they interact with you.
People buy from brands they trust. Show them that they can trust you, especially if you are in the prototyping business. If they see you steal from others they may thing you will steal from them as well.
3. Solving Real Problems
Businesses that solve pain points or offer real value don’t need to fight for attention, customers seek them out. There are a ton of problems out there and many of them are still looking for a solution. A solution that you may be able to offer!
4. Exceptional Customer Experience
Great communication, fast turnaround, transparency, and reliability go further than any viral trend. Customer service is overlooked but is super important and helps build client loyalty. I personally pay more at places that offer great quality and customer service, most others will, too.
5. Sustainable Pricing
Businesses that charge appropriately can:
-reinvest in improvement
-pay themselves fairly
-keep their doors open
-actually grow
Undervaluing your work serves no one, including your customers. If you undercut too much your business may not survive which is heartbreaking and then your customers are left high and dry.
The Biggest Advantage: You
Oversaturated markets create noise. But small businesses have something most mass producers don’t:
✨ Authenticity
✨ Flexibility
✨ Customer connection
✨ Creative control
✨ Local trust
✨ Personal reputation
No algorithm can replace those, no matter what the internet tries to tell you. People still like buying from people. There is still a sense of loyalty that leads people to support local. Be you! You got this!
Success Doesn’t Require Breaking the Rules
At the end of the day, the businesses that stand the test of time are the ones that:
-Don’t cut corners
-Don’t steal designs
-Don’t underprice themselves
-Don’t chase every trend
-Don’t rely on viral luck
They build intentionally, professionally, and ethically, and their reputation becomes their competitive advantage. Times have changed so we know that an online presence is necessary but it isn't all there is. Also, even if you get very little engagement that does not mean they are not seeing you, it does not mean they are not watching, and it does not mean that you will not be fully booked. It's the same as those with a ton of engagement, not all of them are fully booked and they are being seen and recognized online by so many.
Oversaturation doesn’t mean you can’t stand out. It means you must stand out the right way. We believed in our business and have grown it to where it is, with continued growth in the plan and we believe in your business! You got this!