Any red-blooded (or I should say, cold-blooded) Canadian knows about Tim Hortons.

It's a big coffee and donut chain here (the "Dunkin' Donuts" of the Great White North). It's a national institution - right up there with hockey, the RCMP, beavers, and maple syrup.

I once read about a knock-off Tim Hortons in India called "Tim Hottens", which has remarkably similar branding and the same "Always Fresh" slogan of Tim Hortons.

We Canucks are known as peaceful people who don't rush to war, but if anything could cause an international incident this would be it ...

Blatant copying isn't restricted to the donut/coffee shop world. A lot of it is happening with online entrepreneurs too.

I've lost count of how many times I've heard of someone swiping copy from another person online ... in many cases copying another person's sales page word for word.

I don't think this will ever completely stop - the Internet is a big place and there are too many Get Rich Quick'ers who are looking for a shortcut to instant riches.

But that doesn't mean that you can't protect yourself from this.

One way to do it is inject more of your personality into your stuff. They can swipe some words or images, but not your unique personality.

People who follow me know about some of my unique little quirks. I have a dry sense of humour (I have my "dad jokes", which drives my son crazy, and a love of puns). Followers know that I also like pop culture, and I'm a big Superman and Star Wars fan which works its way into my content.

 

(Note: when I say "Star Wars", I mean the original trilogy and not the garbage SW films that Disney has released more recently)

The more you show your market your uniqueness, the harder it'll be for others to copy you.

 

Anyways, on to my call-to-action for today:

 

There's currently an opening in The Coaching Jungle Mastermind, and I'm looking for a motivated coach who wants more support, discipline, and accountability as they build their businesses ... 

 

If that sounds like you, you can apply to join here: 

 

 

Marc Mawhinney