“What business do I really think I could improve?” ~ Sir Richard Branson

I’ve just listened to an interview that Sir Richard Branson gave late last year and, as you’d expect, the topic was his take on entrepreneurship success.

Sir Richard expressed great concern for entrepreneurs who are establishing businesses purely on the premise of ‘where I can make money’, rather than looking at business from the point of view of improving an industry.

Sir Richard always asks the question, “What businesses frustrate me?”, then he goes off and starts businesses in industries he wants to clean up and improve.

The stories of Virgin Records, Virgin Airlines, Virgin Rail, and more recently, Virgin Money are legendary, and certainly these Virgin businesses have disrupted the industries they compete in so that we, the customers, are winners. Why? Because in improving an industry, all players must follow and up their game or else they fail. Therefore, the industry improves.

Virgin Airlines is a brilliant example of this. Virgin Atlantic was the first to introduce individual TV screens on the backs of airline chairs so that we could watch the movies we chose, rather than what the airline wanted us to watch on the communal screens. Now all airlines flying long haul have this feature. If they didn’t, no-one would fly with them as this is the ‘new normal’ that we as customers have come to expect.

Sir Richard Branson’s comments got me thinking.

If we’re already in business, are we as business owners disrupting and improving the industry that we’re a part of or are we just like all other players out there, delivering the same old homogeneous products and services to our customers?

Now you’re probably thinking, “But I am just a small player in my market, and I don’t need to disrupt anything, I just need to get on and do the work”.

Yes and no! Yes, you may be a small fish in a big sea, but you will have lots of competition, even if you only compete in your local market.

And no! You can’t just get on and do the work. You and your business must stand out and do things differently and better otherwise someone else in your industry will create the new normal and you will be left behind. You and your business will irrelevant; a dinosaur!

Size is of no importance in disrupting an industry. Doing lots of things a little bit better than everyone else is what stands the best players out from the rest. Any business can do that.

How about thinking of businesses that you as a consumer or business owner support because to you they are better than and different from the rest? What stands them apart from the rest for you? Often it’s lots of little things and not just one BIG thing that make the difference.

Now for some big questions:

• How are you and your business standing out from the crowd? What distinguishes your business from others in your industry?
• What does your business’s brand represent?
• What part of your industry are you improving?
• What about you, the business owner/entrepreneur? How do you stand out?
• What impression do you leave? Are you personally branded so you are different to all the other business owners out there in your industry?

Food for thought? I hope so.

You as the person behind your business must stand out. Your business must stand out. Be different. Disrupt and improve your industry. Be better than the rest. Do all this well and the money, the profit, the success will follow. I promise.

How about starting a conversation and letting me know how your business is disrupting and improving your industry at a macro or micro level? I’d love to know.

 

Could some guidance from me be helpful to you?  If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me.  Here’s my calendar to book a meeting.  I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

 

Other articles on What Makes Successful Entrepreneurs:

Seven Secrets of Super Successful Entrepreneurs
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Entrepreneurial Success Without Fulfilment: Who Wants That?
All Work + Little Play = Boring!
Mega Entrepreneur Defined!
Supercharge Your Profitable Business!
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NZ Entrepreneurship Success
Millionaire Mindset
7 Secrets of Business Success
Ordinary vs Game Changing
Thriving within the Juggling Act
Business Success and Cookie Dough
What Ice Cream Flavour is Your Business?
What Makes Great Entrepreneurial Leaders?

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