Make Your Business Original

a graphic reading be original and an original stamp.

How to Make Your Business Original

Part 6 of Acey Gaspard’s Guide to Starting a Small Business

Make Your Business Original

Why put so much effort, time, and money into building a business if you’re going to be like everyone else and just operate an average business?

If you’re going to go through all that trouble, why not create a highly successful business? The gap between an average business and a highly successful business is not huge.

If you watch horse racing, the difference between the first horse and the second horse is a matter of seconds but the difference in rewards is huge!

Going From Average to Great Can be as Little as One Step Up

All the foundational work is basically the same. If you compare two similar businesses, you’ll notice they both have all the same basic components, but one probably does something a little better or a little differently and gains that extra market share.

Let me express my point by using this example of two website design companies.

Company A has high-quality designs. They create e-commerce, PHP websites, etc. They have the latest equipment, high-end software, and competitive prices, and they offer hosting and free updates for one year.

Company B is very similar except they offer original content for their clients’ sites and guaranteed search engine positioning and traffic.

Company B doesn’t even write the content or perform the search engine positioning; they outsource that work. Company B has gained a large share of the market because clients can just tell them what they want, forget about it for a few weeks, and then the pages will start showing up in the search engines.

You see, an amateur can build a website, but you need people coming to that site, who are interested in what you have to offer. Company B doesn’t physically do much more than Company A, but they’re perceived as the ultimate solution for getting a successful website developed.

Creating a business that possesses an original idea, product, or service that appeals to your customer can be the difference between running a business just like everyone else and becoming a highly successful leader in your industry! If you’re going to be in business, do it right! Do the best you can!

Here are Three Techniques to Help You Find That Unique Idea

1. Find the Missing Link

All things can be improved. Look for what can be done to improve your industry.
Try this exercise:

a. List all the businesses similar to yours.

b. List all the issues these businesses have in common.

c. From your list, see if you can identify something that’s missing from the industry as a whole. You can also ask questions like:

Where is there room for improvement here?

What’s missing in all of these businesses?

What would make these businesses really great?

2. Ask the Right Questions and Wait for the Answer

Asking questions is a great way to get the creative juices flowing. You have a built-in mechanism to answer questions; sometimes you just have to let the answers come to you.
Ask questions like:

  • What can I do that’s special?
  • Why should anyone do business with me?
  • What’s unique about my business?
  • What are the best qualities of my business and how can I improve them, to make them even better?
  • What’s the best way to become a leader in my industry?

3. Look at Other Businesses That Are Not Related to Your Industry.

  • Sometimes a great idea can be found outside your industry. Study some highly successful businesses, and you may find an idea that will work for your business. Sometimes stepping back will give you an idea.
  • When you’re doing some research and you find a really great idea, ask yourself, “How can I transfer this to my business?”
  • Remember, all great businesses and all great leaders started with an idea.

Action Steps to Make Your Business Original

  • Sometimes, instead of looking at others, you need to look at yourself. Evaluate your business; its operations and how you conduct business and find out what needs improvement.
  • Step completely out of the box. Look at highly successful businesses that are not in the same industry as yours and see what great idea you can introduce into your business.

Back to the table of contents of Acey Gaspard’s Guide to Starting a Small Business