Following the leader isn’t always the most profitable way forward.  If following means copying, then you risk drowning in the sea of generic sameness – unable to stand out or differentiate your products or services on anything other than lowest price.

Now that following has become so popular – following trends, people, success formulas – it’s easy to fall into the trap of just following what everybody else does. It’s time to take stock and stamp your authenticity on your offering in a way that not only differentiates you, but also in a way that your buyer’s value.

The key here is to…

Find out what everyone else is doing, and don’t do that …

…do something better and even more valuable!

A good place to start is to pay attention to what the people around you are doing and don’t do those things.  Do something different – something better that reflects your uniqueness and that buyers truly value.  Here are 36 simple examples to stimulate your thinking…

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BLACK CHAIR: BUSINESS SUCCESS TV

Episode 20: A common habit rich people avoid

Welcome to Black Chair. The single-minded purpose of Black Chair is to help you succeed in business.

“People get excited by the promise of cash!”

In this episode we discuss a very simple cash-control issue that separates the cash-rich from the cash-poor!

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One of the most important ingredients to achieving business success must surely be confidence.  It’s come up many times in recent conversations.  The confidence to sell, make a presentation, negotiate better terms, forge your own unique path or persist with your ideas against the odds.

It’s all too easy to assume that those around us were just born confident – or even are confident. Losing or failing to manage your confidence in a business context can cost you dearly.  Let’s discuss this critical topic.

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BLACK CHAIR: BUSINESS SUCCESS TV

Episode 20: The secret money-power of boredom

Welcome to Black Chair. The single-minded purpose of Black Chair is to help you succeed in business.

“Making money can get boring!”

In this episode, we touch on a topic that comes up sooner or later for all business owners and entrepreneurs – boredom!

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Entrepreneur Magazine’s article, Richard Branson: Five Secrets to Business Success caught my attention recently.  Originally written as a list of five keys that Branson regards as important to successfully building a business, I’ve converted it into a checklist of five useful questions worth reflecting on.

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There’s a lot that goes into making a successful business. So many things to think about and actions to take, the to-do list seems to grow longer by the minute.  That said, I’m always keen to understand how a business – your business – makes money.  How does it actually generate cash?

Take my business as an example.

I blog, tweet, contribute to a thriving business community, meet people, generate ideas and intellectual property, build products, manage cash-flow, plan, collaborate – to name a few activities.  But none of that makes money. How I make money is by selling consulting hours to large organizations and more recently, by selling products on-line.

If we know specifically how each other generates revenue, we can be more efficient and effective in helping each other succeed commercially.

Let’s discuss this important business development topic in the comments.

Too busy to make money?

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So here’s the plan. Give away your ideas, your know-how and your hard-earned wisdom and experience as blog posts, e-books, slide presentations and videos – for free – and crowds of people will come running to your blog. Then do your best to convert as many of these people as you can to buy more of your ideas, your know-how and your hard-earned wisdom and experience.

Am I the only one who has a problem with this logic?

Surely, by giving our precious intellectual property away – the family silver – we not only train people NOT to buy our ideas, but also erode our future ability to earn income.

I would love to discuss this touchy topic with you in the comments.

Giving away the family silver for a golden future

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BLACK CHAIR: BUSINESS SUCCESS TV

Episode 19: How passion kills a business

Welcome to Black Chair. The single-minded purpose of Black Chair is to help you succeed in business.

“There’s a lot of discussion about the importance of passion in business.”

In this episode, we touch on a topic close to the hearts of many business owners and entrepreneurs – passion!

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