*Resources mentioned during the episode*
The Outsiders Business Academy: A self-paced course for you to work through in your own time, to learn – and implement – the foundations of building a profitable business that lets you escape the 9 to 5. onestepoutside.com/course
Stand out in a cluttered market
Transcript:
Welcome back. My name is Anna Lundberg, and I am your host. And today we’re looking at how to stand out in a cluttered market. Now this is something that comes up again and again. And of course only gets worse and worse harder and harder because the market the market, I say there are many markets get more and more cluttered. Why is that? Because of these amazing opportunities that exist now, for entrepreneurs, freelancers, side hustlers, anyone can self publish a book, anyone can start a podcast, of course, with a little bit of effort, a little bit of work.
The reality is that not so many people will stay consistent with that and be resilient enough to last over the long haul.
But it’s true that the sheer amount of people who can put out videos and reels and audio and pictures and blog posts, etc, etc, and sell programs and so on. When we see that, and unfortunately, you know, the deeper we get into a particular industry. So me as a coach, the algorithms pick up that that’s what I do. And of course, I’m bombarded with only other coaches and similar programs. So it’s easy to get that can paranoia that I’ve talked about before comparison syndrome, and be overwhelmed by all the things that other people are doing. And of course, there’s this perception that the grass is greener, we only see other people’s businesses from the outside.
So it looks like everyone has theirs together. And you actually have no idea. Are they even making any sales? Yes, they’ve done a webinar? Yes, they’ve put up a program but you know, are they actually they’re charging amazing amounts of money? But are they actually bringing in money? Who knows? Right? So that’s a different question. And it doesn’t really matter whether they’re hugely successful or hugely unsuccessful, doesn’t really have any bearing on you and your business because you are so unique and your experience and expertise.
Now the first thing to answer here, first point to make in terms of standing out in a cluttered market is every market is cluttered. Pretty much right. So actually, this is a good thing, because it means that is a market, if it’s not cluttered if people aren’t yet doing what you’re doing. And by the way, of course, you first have to do the due diligence of finding that out do even a quick Google researching looking for books, looking for podcasts looking for other experts in that field. If there’s nothing there, then either you’re incredibly innovative and pioneering which is amazing, congratulations. But no offense, it’s pretty unlikely, or there is currently no pool for that. There’s some reason why it hasn’t happened. People don’t get a yet and so on.
So you know, I certainly don’t want to put you off doing something incredibly unique. And you just know that if you do see that there is a cluttered market, if there are a lot of people doing what you’re doing, that’s probably a good thing. So that’s the shift I want you to think about. So don’t let that put you off starting a business. Now another perspective. Another point is that you actually have no competition at all. Why is that? Because you are so unique.
You have a unique mix of experience, expertise and eccentricities.
There you go. The three E’s experience expertise and eccentricities, I’m sure I’ve talked in the past about my coach who was a cheerleader in the past. And she talks about that as a, a great skill, right, she was an athlete, she had that discipline, she knows what it takes and also to take care of her well being. Or, you know, for me, of course, I have my corporate background, but then I also have my international background, I have my academic university experience, these things are relevant to who I am, they’re also relevant to you if that is relatable for you. And that gives me a unique spin versus someone who has incredibly been entrepreneurial since birth, you know, someone Richard Branson,
I’ve got Chris Ducker on the podcast later this month and he has essentially been doing side hustles and things from the very start with the Hong Kong film company and sales and marketing agency and he’s got hundreds of people working for him. Now I don’t have that experience, I have a different view of these things a different take. So superficially it might look like you do something similar to someone else, but you’re bringing a unique experience, unique expertise, your hard skills, soft skills, and importantly your personality strengths are different to someone else’s. And then your eccentricities your quirks This is, funnily enough, something that’s come up from many different directions very recently to me so it’s made me question what are the quirks I asked in my Facebook group and the escape the nine to five group and the answers weren’t very quirky To be honest, but they were very nice in terms of the strengths that I put across in terms of being relatable and down to earth and honest and very knowledgeable, transparent warm all these things that I really aspire to be I like to think I am so it’s really great to hear that back not so quirky though so I’m gonna have to have a think about that.
I know in the past I’ve kind of brought things like and my friends from the past I think I’m still very much into Disney I must say as I approach the big four row that that has a little bit fallen by the wayside, although of course I still enjoy you know, giving my daughter pot. The princess dresses and watching a few films with her ex Encanto was pretty good, right? But I have lost Got a little bit. So that’s not really a core part of my personality. You know, I run I love to see. But I have to think if there’s anything that’s particularly quirky, so answers on a postcard, please if you know if you picked up on any weird quirks that I do.
So I do enjoy being I do enjoy the fact and appreciate the fact that people are fed back mirrored back the strengths that I have. But yeah, not so not so crazy. So let me know if there’s any quirks that you’ve picked up on as a listener, podcast at wants to buy.com where you can message me on social. But given all this, right, given the fact that every market is cluttered, it’s actually a good thing, if it’s cluttered, if there is a market. And in a way, you have no competitors at all, you need to get really clear on what makes you different and communicate that in an effective and compelling way.
So there are two pieces to this number one, get clear number two communicate.
So the first thing we do, and this is something I do in the Business Academy, check that out. It’s a new program, one step outside.com. Forward slash course, once about sider comm forward slash course. And there’ll be lots more about that on my social platforms, if you’re listening to this live, because it’s a new program that’s just come out. But we’re looking at really understanding who you are your personal brand framework, this is something I developed years ago, based on inspired by the product brand framework that we had in my corporate days at Procter and Gamble. So a very kind of academic approach, I suppose to it. But I find it really helps to get that level of clarity of understanding your purpose, the values, you know, the things you want to be known for the things that are really core to who you are, your strengths, your skills, and how you can bring that to life.
So again, remember those threes, they’ve just made up experience expertise, and eccentricities, and more strategically, perhaps, as well, your value proposition for your business, and your elevator pitch. Again, this is something we do in the course on something that we do in all our personal branding work. It’s the kind of thing that you have to have in your bio, in your headline on your website. What do you do? For whom? And how do you do it? Who are you working with? What are you doing for them with them? And how are you doing it? I help experienced professionals quit their jobs to start and grow a business so that they can have more freedom, flexibility and fulfillment or so that they can escape the nine to five, by you know, by a combination of coaching and mentoring. We can play around with that the who, what, how piece. And so what I think is really important. So what’s your elevator pitch? What’s your big headline? What do you want to be known for? I think actually sharing the cost if I remember correctly, that I’ve always been and I remember this from working with a coach years ago, I’ve always been a bit reluctant to own this escape the nine to five piece specifically, I should say, I’ve been reluctant to own the quitting your job piece because I’m never one to push people, persuade convince in any way. And also, that’s not what it’s about for me. So escaping the nine to five I like because especially in the recent context of hybrid working and of course working from home, and the increased flexibility. Airbnb recently announced their flexible working work from anyway, which is very on brand for them. Of course, with all that happening, escaping the nine to five doesn’t have to mean even quitting your job, right, it can mean finding a flexible employer. The personal brand work I’m talking about today is just as important and valuable for someone who’s building their personal brand within a company within an industry. As for somebody who is building their own business, so for me, it’s more of a reimagining success, hence the name of this podcast. It’s the escaping the nine to five in terms of building that freedom, flexibility of fulfillment. That’s what I want to be known for.
I don’t want to be known for quitting your job.
I’m not the screw the nine to five, screw the cubicle, whatever kind of message. I’m also not the marketing tactics. Here’s how you do a video on tick tock, no, no, that’s not me, I can always tell you how to do it. But that’s not the core part, and much more about the big picture, Vision strategies, the timeless principles that are going to apply whatever happens again, funnily enough, in the interview with Chris, it’s fresh off my mind fresh on my mind, from yesterday, we were talking about the fact that, you know, these principles are timeless. He was talking about VHS, and fax back in the day when he started his first business. And although that doesn’t exist anymore, the principles of generating leads and having conversations and selling and marketing and so on are the same. So that’s what I want to communicate and stand for. So number one, create a picture of who you are, what you do, experience expertise. eccentricity is the three E’s and maybe you’re more eccentric than I am, I don’t know. And your value proposition, your elevator pitch. This is what I do for this kind of client and this is how I do it. So that takes why is that? Secondly is communicating it and I mentioned there already this is going to be on your website, right? If you go to my website, one step outside, you can see the headline, helping you design and build a life and business that allows you to escape the nine to five. I have also my Anna lundberg.com By the way, where I talk more about the reimagining success message. You’ll see it in my Instagram bio, you’ll see the LinkedIn headline you’ll see it in my Facebook personal and perfect snort about section.
So that’s where you’re going to sort of fundamentally bring it to life in a static way. And then more interestingly, more dynamically, you’re going to incorporate it and bring it to life in your content. Again, this is something we cover in the course wants to buy photo comm forward slash course, have a look at the Business Academy. But you can refer to your experience in videos, you can demonstrate your expertise by teaching educating again, just yesterday, I was running the business accelerator masterclass. And again, by the way, you can get the recording of this one step outside.com. Forward slash masterclass. One step outside of Comm forward slash masterclass. And so I’m teaching, I’m educating on the five pillars, or building that life outside the nine to five. And then, as I said, allow your quirks to come through. So again, I think, I guess my quirk would be, but again, I’m looking forward to your answers. For me, it’s always easier to see this in someone else, that I am Super Down to Earth and honest, you know, I chat about being in the bath and replying to messages and the kids and so on. Right, I’m very open and relatable about the challenges and the reality of running the business. So I hope that comes across. And I hope that is, you know, it’s a harder slog, I suppose if I did more of the hardcore, pushy marketing, and really big myself up and, and said, I’ve got the secret to seven figure business, maybe I’d sell more, but that’s not what I do. So there you go. So how to stand out in a crowded market. Number one, every market is cluttered. Number two, that’s actually a good thing. And number three, you need to work out what makes you different and communicate that in an effective way. Right.
So first of all, it is who you are what you do. And that’s already two pieces, right? Who you are your experience expertise and eccentricities, your value proposition, your elevator pitch. And what you do is also then how are your programs different, I have group programs, but they’re very intimate small groups, everybody gets a lot of face time, one on one time with me. And that’s very different to many group programs, where either you’re working with the kind of minions of the big famous coach, or you know, you only get a quick Kotze of maybe two, three minutes to ask something. So that’s, again, really consistent feedback I get from my clients, and I really value that and I would never allow the program business accelerator in this case to grow beyond a particular size. If it grew beyond a certain size, then I’d be having multiple calls to make sure I could cover that, right. So for me, that’s really different, really important. I know, first of all, that I always want to over deliver, and secondly, that you need more support, perhaps than you think. And I always want to give that support, I don’t want to just say, oh, sorry, you know, you can have like 10 seconds in this call. And then that’s it. So for me, that’s also what I do differently.
So I hope that’s both reassuring and inspiring, go forth, be yourself, find out what yourself is, you know, there is a boundary between what you know who you are as a whole and complete human being and what you’re communicating. And that’s fine. And I draw that line too. But we still want to be ourselves want to be authentic, and bring to life that experience expertise, and little quirks and eccentricities, because then people are choosing you for a unique reason. Because they relate to you they know like and trust you as we say, rather than you just being a commodity. I think I’ve shared in fact, last week separate or a couple of weeks ago at least was about how to choose a business coach. If someone comes to me and says I’m speaking to 11 other coaches, I know and it’s not just me being you know, lacking confidence, I know that they’re probably not going to choose me, because I’ve literally got an Excel sheet with 12 people. They don’t know me well enough if they’re getting lost in a long list of other coaches to decide to work with me. Whereas someone who’s joined my workshops, maybe in the Facebook group, watch my videos, you guys listen to the podcast, you know me well enough to know if you like my approach, the style, the five pillars that I teach, and so on my big picture, vision and mission of reimagining success, and it’s much more likely than that we’ll get on and we’ll click and we’ll work effectively together. So that’s really important too. Thanks so much for listening, and I’ll see you next week. Bye for now
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The Outsiders Business Academy
A self-paced course for you to work through in your own time, to learn – and implement – the foundations of building a profitable business that lets you escape the 9 to 5.
