In my hundreds of interviews with enterprise owners one of the mistakes, many have admitted to, was in trying to mimic the corporates rather than differentiate from them. The Olympics was saved from feeling like one giant sheep dip from your government and the big global corporates by the sheer energy, laughter, tears and diversity of the spectators, the volunteers and the athletes.
Be creative. There are, at least, twenty ways an independent cafe owner can attract people to their cafe rather than Starbucks or McDonalds. A micro baker, confectioner, florist, butcher, pharmacy, electronic retailer can find another twenty ways to attract customers to their premises rather than Tesco or Wal-Mart. Even a ‘work from home’ accountant can find enough ways for their fee paid start up support to be taken up rather than a government or charity’s free equivalent.
Ensure your business has something for everyone. Embracing diversity is really tough for ‘the suits’ as was proven at the Olympics yet it’s the easiest thing in the world if you’re interested in finding out about people. Everyone is an individual and every micro enterprise owner can add value in different ways to every potential and existing customer. It only requires questioning and listening.
For more from Soculitherz come back every weekend or purchase the Kindle book ‘Freedom From Bosses Forever‘ by Tony Robinson OBE (with Soculitherz) from Amazon.
