Why Protect Existing Businesses from New Competition?

Small freedoms, I called it, two days ago.  Today, I was pleased to see an article in the Deseret News.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765583063/Weeding-out-unneeded-occupation-licenses-in-Utah.html?pg=2

I do think opening a business, and running a business should be considered a freedom, and government should only infringe on it when it is in the interest of the public. Much of the licensing should be done away with. Why, for example, do we need to license barbers? The article points out that often the licensing serves mostly to protect existing businesses, making it hard for competition to open shop.

Why would we, a nation of free enterprise, protect existing businesses from new businesses coming in to compete against them?

I posted in the past that the right to open a business could be considered a basic civil right, even a constitutional right. The Constitution ensures us the right to life, liberty and property. If a business is considered property, then we have the right to not be restricted from owning it simply because the competition does not want us around.