Its very small studios (162 square foot) furnished, it rents like crazy duo to the location and we charge very cheap comparing to others competitors.

Get into the quads and larger and there are fewer competitors on both sides.

Our biggest competitor was China and Russia to remove the US as the reserve currency.  

They are not only your partners but also your competitors and a decision taken by an individual partner might affect your investment.

If you want to try out this business, than I would recommend having a way to differentiate yourself from your competitors so that you are drawing more bookings towards you.

Ask an agent, check out your competitor's rates, etc.

They are direct competitors, albeit with a slightly different take.

New to the business and would love to network and meet some competitors in my market. 

I guess you can say that we are technically competitors although not in the same markets.  

However ...I break down my RE investing into 3 major phases requiring significantly different knowledge & talent. 1 Buying2 Rehabing3 Selling (as a flip or rental)Teaching #2 & #3 is not a significant issue for making the student my competitor.