BE DIFFERENT

You, your product, and your service are unique.

Entering the world of small business, in many cases, becomes a competition with others that are selling the same product or service. Thus the statement “I can be better than they are”. The battle field is set; the goal is to become better than the competition.

I challenge you to adopt a different philosophy, “Don’t try to be better, try to be different.” Most small business owners try to emulate the business leaders that offer the same product or service. I believe that you should present yourself as an alternative. As an example, Scope wanted to compete with Listerine. What they did was hang the “medicine breath” label on Listerine and introduced Scope as the “good tasting mouth wash”.

The “Be Different” philosophy applies to commission sales people as well as what we normally classify as a small business (I always include commission sales people as business owners). Let me share an example: the headline in this morning’s real estate section read “Number of Phoenix Real Estate Agents Grows”, There are currently over 73,000 licensed agents and brokers in Arizona and that number is expected to increase.

Unfortunately, a hot market is drawing more and more people into the real estate field, all hoping to cash in on a lucrative market. The reality is that perhaps as many as 90% of all real estate agents will not earn a livable wage. It reminds me of the early days of the “gold rush” where people abandoned good jobs and went west to strike gold. Very few ever became successful.

How do you become different in a small business? To start with, build a solid foundation upon which you can grow. We recommend the Vision Based Business Planning process that BizQuack developed. The second is to stay ahead of change, to become aware of economic trends, technical trends and consumer trends in your field of business.

Other hints include the formation of an advisory board, a business support group and belonging to a community that provides the right education, marketing and business development support that is needed for growing a sustainable and profitable business.

With change being the only constant in the business world today, affiliate yourself with those that can help place you in a position to lead change instead of following it.

IT’S A WORTHWHILE EXERCISE TO DETERMINE WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT!

Advice and tips by Nick Petra – CFP, Mentor, and founder of BizQuack and StrategicDuck