I think most shop owners avoid looking at successful competitors.
I watch them do it every day.
Last month I had a zoom with an owner doing $35K monthly. Decent money, right? He was comfortable. We were talking about his growth plans when I asked if he knew what other shops in his market were doing.
"I don't really pay attention to competitors. I'm building my own thing."
Fair enough. But then I showed him another shop's Instagram - same market, same services.
They were pushing $140K from the last casual conversation I had with them.
His face changed. Something clicked. A recognition that comfortable had become dangerous.
"How the hell..."
That moment is where growth starts... for everyone.
See, there's something that happens when you witness proof of what's possible in your exact situation. You might feel a twinge of regret or frustration at first. But what really matters is you finally have real data on where you could be.
Most shop owners operate in this weird bubble where they genuinely don't know if $35K monthly is good, great, or mediocre for their market. They have no frame of reference beyond their own experience.
They'll say things like "I don't want to copy anyone" or "I'm building my own path." Meanwhile, the shop 20 minutes away is booking $2,500 ceramic packages while they're struggling to sell $500 details.
And honestly, they're not wrong about building their own path. But I think they're missing half the equation.
The shop doing $140K doesn't have magic.
They don't have advantages you can't access.
What they have is a different relationship with "good enough."
While everyone else hit $30-40K and got comfortable, they kept asking "What else is possible?"
Tomorrow I'll show you exactly what they were doing differently.
-G out. 🎤🎤
P.S. If you're wondering whether your revenue is good for your market, you probably need to look around more.
Ignorance might be bliss, but it's expensive bliss.