After identifying competitors, my go-to research process is to pretend to be their customer. This includes going to their social media platforms, websites, etc, and seeing why I might be attracted to their company as opposed to ours. Are they more engaging, or funny? What do they have that we lack? That way I am able to identify exactly why someone might choose them over us and improve said issue.

Recently, my family and I have been refurbishing and redecorating our home. So far Facebook Marketplace has been the most useful for furniture. It is easy to use, connected to your Facebook account, and has verifications for money transfers. I feel comfortable using it and giving it to my parents to use as well.

My mother is the opposite of a hoarder, decluttering every chance she gets. This resulted in many drives to our local thrift store. One day out of curiosity, I decided to sell a few things items online myself. I ended up making $50 that week selling a few small decorative globes and a lamp on Facebook Marketplace. Call it beginners luck, but now I get a little bit of extra pocket money every month after our routine home cleanse.