Disclaimer : The Pacific Islands Small Business Development Center Network ( PISBDCN ) at the University of Guam – School of Business & Public Administration is partially funded by a cooperative agreement with the U . S . Small Business Administration ( SBA ). All opinions , conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author ( s ) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA . Requests for reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance . Language assistance services are available for limited English proficient individuals with at least two weeks advance notice . For arrangements , please contact Guam SBDC , P . O . Box 5014 Mangilao , Guam 96923 , Tel : ( 671 ) 735-2590 , or Email sbdc @ pacificsbdc . com . Services are extended to the public on a non-discriminatory basis .

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WHERE AMERICA ’ S

WAR BEGINS ?

Guam on the front line of a looming conflict

VOL . 7 GUAM • PALAU CNMI • FSM NO . 06

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JUNE 2023

Feature

Ground Zero : Typhoon Mawar in pictures

Palau

Old traditions in modern times www . pacificislandtimes . com

Caught between empires On a very short timetable 14 US vs China vs Taiwan

From the Publisher ’ s Desk

Surviving Mawar 4

Bookshelf

Resistance and survival 25 Art

Transcendent art 26

A supplement to the Pacific Island Times

INSIDE

CHUUK SBDC CONTINUES SERVICES FOR THE COMMUNITY

Petos Journey Celebrating Black History Month

Professional Business Processes Getting everyday procedures to run smoothly

Editorial / Production Staff

Published by Pacific Island Times ( Pacific Independent News Service LLC )

Pacific Islands Small Business Development Center Network

Contributing writers

Faith Antol Cassandra Deras Frederick Granillo Emily O ’ Steen

Register Your Business in our new regional Business Directory at http :// www . pacificsbdc . com / directories / get-listed-directory

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( GrowthWheel ®) – When you start a business , it is often because you want to do something that has not been done in quite the same way before . Perhaps you hope to develop a product or a service that has not been seen before , or maybe design a brand with a new expression and distinct values . Perhaps you are even aiming to be unique .

In reality , very few ideas and products are actually unique . More often , new products and services solve the same problems or fulfill the same needs as others , but in a slightly different way or with a twist . The good news is that an idea does not have to be unique or completely new to be a good business idea . It is enough for a startup to be distinctive or just be better than the competition at what it does . So how do you accomplish that ?

Take a look at the competition

The first step toward being better than the competition is to find out what your competitors are doing , by keeping informed and doing some simple research . What you basically want to know is what products your competitors are selling , to which client groups and how they have priced their products and services . You must also familiarize yourself with the competitor ’ s products and their special characteristics , if any , and finally , your research should include a look at how others in the market communicate and market themselves .

Google knows the competition

There are many different ways of getting information about your competition , but the best way is - without comparison - via the omnipresent Google . The internet has revolutionized many aspects of having a business , and the way that you as an entrepreneur can gather information about competitors .

Formerly , it took greater effort to identify the other players in your field , or simply to get a sales brochure from a competitor . Today , this information is available to us the minute we look for it . With Google Alerts , for example , we do not even have to look for information but will receive an email when there is news about a product or a competitor . However , the internet is not the only place for us to get more knowledge about the

June 2023 , Vol . 19 No . 1

Visit our website at www . pacificsbdc . com

Startup in the Blue Ocean Stand out from the competition

market . Other places may include magazines and professional papers where the advertisements themselves hold a lot of information . You can often also collect information from your branch association and get the opportunity to meet and talk to your competitors . The same applies if your branch holds a congress or an annual conference .

Finally , it is also possible to get information about the market from your own clients . To get an insight into the prices in the market , you might ask your clients what they usually pay for orders such as yours .

Better than the competition

Once you have acquired some knowledge about the market and the customers , you can take the next step towards becoming better than your competitors . This entails making a systematic comparison of your own company and the competitors , where you look at all the various characteristics of your product and your company and make a comparison .

For this comparison you can use the Position Map ( see the illustration ) that shows five examples of areas where you might do better or worse than the competitors . These five areas are : 1 ) Product design , 2 ) Buyer ’ s experience , 3 ) Customer relations , 4 ) Brand value and 5 ) Price level . In all these areas you can give yourself and your competitors a score representing where you stand in the market and the lines between the dots will

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