I sat in a large meeting earlier this week with a mix of consultants, government agencies, funding bodies, and not-for-profits—all working to support new, growing, and established businesses in my region. The conversation, as always, circled back to one recurring theme: duplication.

For years, this sector has been accused of creating redundant services. Some programs have been shut down under the guise of ‘right-sizing’—forcing people into silos, afraid to collaborate. I know this firsthand. In 2023, I was caught in one of these ‘efficiency measures’ and had a program I worked on scrapped. But instead of disappearing, I was brought on to work with Darwin Innovation Hub, where I continued doing almost exactly what I was doing—just for a different business cohort.

The irony? While organisations were cutting ‘duplicated’ services, they weren’t filling the gaps they created. They had huge budgets for service delivery and administration but barely a dollar allocated to marketing. So the businesses that needed their help never even knew they existed. And that’s a massive failure in logic. If your service doesn’t reach the people it’s meant to serve, does it even exist? It’s like a signposted road that leads to nowhere, or a library full of books that’s never open.

The Real Problem with Duplication

We often hear that competition makes everything better. And in many cases, that’s true. Supermarkets, fuel stations, airlines—all benefit from competitive forces. But what happens when the market is small, and the service isn’t competing on price but on access?

Business support services don’t operate like airlines or supermarkets. If they all exist in silos, they’re not competing—they’re just duplicating efforts inefficiently. When these silos don’t communicate, businesses get lost, not knowing who to turn to for help. Worse still, they end up seeking help from people who aren’t equipped to support them, which only leads to frustration.

Over the last two years, I’ve worked to break down those silos. It wasn’t easy. Some organisations ignored my emails. Some refused to acknowledge my work. But I kept at it, making inroads where I could. Last year, I cracked open the biggest one. But now, I see more barriers ahead—more organisations that should be working together but aren’t. And it’s not that they’re malicious or lazy. They’re just conditioned to believe that their work is so unique, so special, that it can’t possibly be done by anyone else. And that’s where they miss the point entirely.

Why I Sometimes Choose Duplication

I’ll admit: I’ve stepped into lanes that weren’t mine. Not to compete, but because the services meant to be there weren’t doing their job. If businesses needed networking, I built my own network. If digital skills weren’t being taught consistently, I created my own training program. If no one was running an accessible public speaking club, I started one.

And guess what happened?

Eventually, the organisations responsible for these services woke up. They saw the demand and got back to work. That’s when I stepped back. I don’t compete for the sake of competing. I step in when there’s a gap—and I step out when the right people step up.

But there’s a key lesson in this: If you’re providing a service, and you don’t make yourself known to the people who need it, someone else will. That’s not competition. That’s just filling a vacuum. And if you’re mad about someone else stepping in, maybe it’s time to ask yourself why they had to in the first place.

The Capitalist Illusion

Capitalism tells us competition drives innovation and lowers prices. That’s true for businesses where profit is the main driver. But in non-profit services, competition just confuses people.

I could keep running my own version of these programs, but why? The organisations I stepped in for have the funding. I don’t. I operate off momentum and passion, but they have the resources to sustain long-term programs.

That’s the difference between competition and duplication. Competition is useful when businesses fight for customers on price, quality, or service. Duplication in a niche sector with limited resources? That just creates inefficiency and confusion. Sometimes, stepping back is just as important as stepping up.

The challenge for those running these programs is to stop seeing their services as proprietary and start seeing them as necessary. The more visible you make your service, the less likely someone else will feel the need to step in and do it for you. And if someone does step in, don’t fight them—collaborate. The best outcomes happen when people work together, not when they hoard opportunities like they’re the last cold Great Northern in the esky at a networking event.