Have You Got the Guts to Be the Black Sheep of Your Industry?

Honestly, I could just skip writing this entire post.

The headline and the image would probably be enough.

But I’m writing about it anyway,

mainly because I know a lot of entrepreneurs are still struggling with this.

So why should you want your business to be the “black sheep”?

The saying goes back to the days when black wool was considered less valuable than the fluffy white kind. So black sheep weren’t exactly welcomed or desired.

Today, being a black sheep means something even worse.

Someone who messes everything up, fails at most things, and sticks out as the scapegoat when things go wrong.

Rejected. Out of place. Different.

But let’s be honest - who wants to be just like everyone else, anyway?

'Baa'ing in the same muddy field, fighting for the same patches of grass, and following the flock wherever it goes - doing exactly what everyone else is doing.

The only person who might tell you apart from the others is your mom.

To everyone else, you're just one of the 37 identical sheep grazing in the mud.

That might be acceptable in some rare occasions, but not when you want to run a successful business.

Because if your mom is the only one who'll recognize you then, quite frankly you’re in trouble.

And yet, this is how many businesses operate.

And sure, I get it.

For an entrepreneur, it can feel safe to follow in the footsteps of others.

You look at what your competitors are doing and copy their slogans, colors, and sales tricks.

The only problem is this:

Sure, it’s easy. It’s fast.

But it won’t make you stand out.

And a business that doesn’t stand out, will be forgotten.

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People don’t remember the masses.

They remember the ones who stand out.

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Your customers won’t choose you because you’re “pretty good” or “just like everyone else.”

They choose you because you offer something different.

Because you have your own style, your own way of doing things.

Because you have the guts to stand by your principles.

At the end of the day, people want to buy from people.

Not from faceless corporations that look, sound, and smell just like all the others.

They want to know who’s behind the business.

So let your voice, your style, and your approach show - THE LOUDER, the better.

When you dare to let your personality show, two things will happen:

1. You attract the kind of people who resonate with you and your business.

   Your audience starts to fill with exactly the kind of clients you want to work with.

2. You might also stir up a few grumpy critics who aren’t too thrilled by the fact that the world contains color, life, and variety.

Unfortunately, you can’t avoid them, but that’s okay.

It’s impossible to please everyone anyway. And if you try to, you end up pleasing no one.

It’s better to focus on the ones who actually value the way you do things.

That’s how you build loyal clients who don’t even want to go anywhere else.

So stop wasting your time trying to be “good enough” for everyone.

Instead, be great for the people who truly need you and your services.

So how do you figure out what makes you different?

Here are a few questions to help you get started:

• What makes you and your business unique?

• How is your way of doing things different?

• Why did you start your business in the first place?

• What problem did you want to solve for your clients?

• What value did you want to offer them?

• What are your personal values that guide your work?

• And how could you show that more boldly to the outside world?
  

The clearer you are about your personality and style, the more memorable you become.

You stop being just another option.

You become the only option they remember.

And when your clients need your services again…

They’ll remember you.

The black sheep among all the white ones.