Lost in the CrowdI have never loved crowds.  I like to have a lot of open space around me.  That’s why shopping at the mall during the holidays or living in a big city is not really my thing.  In the business world, breaking away from the crowd has been referred to as The Blue Ocean Strategy or finding The Purple Cow (both are great books, by the way).  It’s about figuring out what you do, how you help and the products and services you offer that set you apart from the crowd.  It’s about figuring out your brilliance and packaging it in a way that the people who want and need it will buy it.

Breaking away from the crowd requires you to know what make you special.  This is a hard thing for many business owners.  We spend most of our lives trying to fit in with the crowd.  As a kid, standing out is bad . . . . it can make you a target.  Conformity is the safe (and socially acceptable) way to be in the world.  But in this age of technology where there is more access to the global marketplace and businesses have more “competition” than ever before, it is imperative to figure out where your brilliance lies and what makes you unique.

This is not something that someone else can do for you.  This is a soul-searching exercise you must do for yourself.  Sure, there are plenty of people who will be more than happy to tell you what they think makes you special and they may even be willing to package you and sell you to a target market who wants you.  That sounds nice . . .someone else does the work and you reap the benefit.  Yeah, and it really doesn’t work like that.  In order to really swim out in the blue ocean or sell your purple cow, you have to truly own your brilliance.  Owning your genius is a process that can take time and soul searching is a big part of the process.  If someone else tells you what your genius is and creates a ready-made business in a binder for you, then it will be hard to sell if you don’t own and embody it.  Instead of reaping the benefits, you’ll be spending your time trying to step into someone else’s perception of you.

Once you figure out what makes you unique and truly special and you begin to develop your products, services and marketing around your brilliance, it doesn’t matter how crowded the market is and how many “competitors” you have, you will stand out to the people who want and need what you have.

Here are some questions to consider to help you identify what makes you special and where your brilliance lays. 

  • What are you really passionate about?
  • If you had to pick one last thing to do in your business until you “retire”, what would you do, who would you help and how would you help?
  • What do you really, really, really love to do?
  • What work do you do that doesn’t seem like work at all?  (You could do it all day long and not get bored, tired or burned out)
  • What is your unique ability that when you use it provides tremendous benefit to you and others?

Once you answer these questions, identify what makes you special and begin to fully own your brilliance, your life and your business will transform.  Are you up for the challenge?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this article!