Posted by Does Your Business Seem More Like a Dishonest Hustle to Potential Customers? Is Your Business Idea Special Enough to PayHard Earned Money for?
When you start a business in hopes of getting strangers to hand over their hard earned money to you, avoid being like a con artist. What do I mean by that? A con artist is a dishonest person who seeks to get money from a stranger in exchange for a product or service that the stranger later finds out is useless to them, or not nearly what they expected. They feel cheated.
Now you might not think of yourself as a con artist, but if you spend more time thinking about how you can get money from a stranger than you do about the value the stranger gets from your product or service, then you are, essentially, an unintentional con artist. You may not have planned your business that way. But the reason most small businesses fail within the first few years is that they don’t plan how their business will bring equal or more value to their potential customers. Your business plan has to be focused on that fundamental concept. Filing papers to become a business is secondary. A true boss knows the value they deliver to customers.
It’s relatively easy to register an LLC or S Corporation with the State of Texas or whatever state you’re in. In fact, this seems to be fashionable for a lot of people, giving them a sense of accomplishment, making them a boss in their own mind. But is this really enough to be a boss, to make boss moves, to make that bag and take it to the bank?
The answer is no. Just filing papers with the state does not automatically mean money will flow. Do you have a special, unique business idea that will make people want to break bread with you? Will they get equal or more value from your business? This fundamental understanding of business is missing with most people who file articles of incorporation. A piece of paper will not make some random stranger go to your website, social media page or physical store to part ways with their hard earned money. You have to have something special, something valuable, something that is hard for them to get anywhere else before they even think about giving you their money. In business terminology, this is called a niche. Finding that niche plays an important part of establishing your brand. An effective marketing brand can translate into value if executed correctly.
If you’ve seen my previous videos on branding strategies, you should know by now that a niche is established by market branding tactics. For instance, many people are familiar with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. Why is that? Why do we know them? Because they are famous. Fame offers a uniqueness to their brand, so that you can’t get authentic Yeezy sneakers anywhere except through authorized resellers. Same thing with Kim’s cosmetic lines and other endorsements. Say what you will about how Kim became famous, but what makes her and the Kardashian family smart is that they successfully converted their notoriety into a unique niche, which then supports their business brand. As we see now with the current Kanye and Kim divorce drama, pop culture is still glued to their brands, though Kanye has to be careful with some of his antics to win back Kim.
But that’s a story for another day.
You also have to position yourself and your business idea into a unique niche. What is so special about your product or service? For those who do hair and nails, why is what you offer so much different from the millions of other people in the same space? If you can’t answer that in one sentence, then it’s not special, and you will likely lose money, whether you admit it or not.
Doing hair and nails is not about making money putting your hands on the customer’s hair and nails. The customer needs your service for a reason. What is that reason? I’ll give you a hint: there’s something in the customer’s lifestyle that is making them come to you for this service. Is it a special event? Is it a new guy they met? Is it a job interview? Designing your marketing campaign around these themes will put you on the path to differentiating yourself from your competition.
Being a boss or entrepreneur is more than just being in business just to brag about being a boss. A true entrepreneur will fail at several business ideas before finding that perfect niche that goes viral. So if you are passionate about doing hair and nails, but after 2 years, you’re barely making any money, ask yourself is what you’re offering truly special enough to make someone want to spend their money with you? Be real with yourself and don’t let your passion cloud your judgment. If it’s time to find another hustle, it’s better to do it now rather than waste more years and money on something that ain’t working.
If there are too many competitors in your line of business, find something you’re better at, that is unique enough to stand out. Finding the sweet spot takes time, but you have to be committed to revisiting your branding strategy, making yourself different from everyone else. For those in STEM skills, this can be easier because most people don’t have these skills, depending on which area of STEM you choose. If you need more individualized help in creating a roadmap to discovering a niche for your business idea, book a session with me and we’ll go from there. I won’t bite and neither will my fee. Until the next video, take care, my business warriors.
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