Everybody seems to be intent on copying everyone else out there that is working the same tired old business formats and getting no results. For example, the guy that starts a real estate agency will usually look to other real estate agents in his area to get guidance on how to run a real estate agency. He hasn’t given thought to the possibility (even probability) that the business he is copying is barely giving the owner enough spare money at the end of the month to survive! And, yet, he will go ahead and copy and perhaps in some cases borrow money from the bank and remortgage his home to back a business model that doesn’t work and is about to move him further away from his dreams than closer to them.
This isn’t aimed solely at the real estate industry by the way; it is the same in so many industries across the board. It is not the industry that I am pointing the finger at here, it is the thought processes of the business owner that is at fault.
What happened to thinking outside of the box?
What happened to innovation?
The late Steve Jobs was an inspiration to all of us with the commitment he showed to continuous improvement and innovation. He realised the importance of not resting on one’s laurels but instead striving to achieve the next big thing and to not only do it first in many cases, but also to do it better in order to maintain business growth.
So going back to our real estate example, what would happen if our new real estate agent decided to do things differently from everyone else? Well, at the very least he will be recognised as being different and will have his head above the others for that alone. The familiar real estate agent business model will just bring him pretty much the same as every other real estate agent in his area and if that is enough then great! But, what if it’s not?
What has he got to lose by thinking outside of the box? Business growth these days comes down to having a strong USP (unique selling proposition), that makes you different from everybody else out there.
Innovators always make the most money in business and the people that copy might do OK (until the market becomes saturated with copycats) but generally, the rewards for innovation are substantial.
Your business growth depends on your ability to innovate and maintain a quantifiable difference over your competitors in the eyes of your target audience. Innovation will get you ahead and keep you ahead in the long run.
So be happy to be different and rejoice in the difference you make!
Food for thought!…
– Robert