” When I graduated from high school, we were the kings and queens of the campus. As I recall, we were royalty. We were the seniors.
Then I went to college. As a freshman in college, I was once again a pauper and at the bottom rung of the educational ladder, even though deep inside I still felt like I was a king, just temporarily dethroned.
My roommate in the college dormitory was a high school football all-star and an Ohio punt, pass and kick champion.
He thought he would star on the college football team (a Mid-American Conference team). He returned from try-outs with a very different perspective.
He was the top dog at his small town high school, but he was now competing with the top dogs from high schools all over the state and country – bigger fish from bigger ponds – and he was out of his league.
If you think I’m just reminiscing about days-gone-by, you are partially correct. However, the big-fish-little-pond effect was actually conceived about students in school, not business. However, its meaning still applies.
Small Fish – Big Fish
Although our average pawn transaction still falls within the industry average, we make thousand dollar (or one comma) transactions all the time. Upon occasions, we will make a pawn loan, sell or buy something in the five digit area. Five digits is a big transaction around here. Remember, I’m still a small fish…”