I have observed a thinking pattern that is something common among the majority of aspiring entrepreneurs.
Whenever we think of a new business idea we focus too much on the uniqueness of the business idea. If we cannot identify or find any uniqueness then we lose all appeal towards the business idea.
Where can I be different?
We spend days and weeks looking for a unique business idea and doing nothing progressive. We want to start our entrepreneurship journey by waiting. After some time this waiting becomes a habit.
If a business has anything unique as a concept then it must protect that uniqueness at any cost. Because for the customers, that is differentiating that business from the competitors. It is a competitive advantage, and one got to be fighting to protect it. That is why licencing, patents and rights are always in demand, complex and expensive.
I do not have anything against unique business ideas. My problem is, this mindset is holding us back from starting our journey. In business, every aspect should aim for uniqueness. Not only the idea. I cannot wait on selling while I am identifying a unique sales approach. I cannot wait on hiring while I am identifying a unique hiring approach. This waiting attitude will lead us nowhere. Even if we find a unique idea the chances are, we would not be able to capitalize on the uniqueness with this attitude.
A business does not only surround itself with uniqueness as an idea. Every business has to find its competitive advantages, the winning factors in the core of the business model.
One can tell numerous competitive advantage parameters. But without making it too complex, the 3 major competitive advantages can be,
- Cost leadership: Where a business provides the same product or service as its competitors but at lower prices.
- Differentiation: Where a business is offering something unique from its competitors.
- Niche: Where a business is offering a particular kind of product or service for a specialized segment of the market.
We should focus more on identifying competitive advantages over uniqueness. If we have any one of the competitive advantages we are good to go.
Differentiation in business idea should not be holding us back. We should start and with time we will learn to be different. Not just the idea but in sales, marketing, manufacturing, distribution, costing, customer relationship, marketing and everything else. It does not happen overnight. It happens with time on a real entrepreneurial journey.
Let’s discover our uniqueness on the way, by doing something real.
