Sarah Lakhani Consulting

Helping entrepreneurs build businesses with clarity and ease through strategic business design

Sarah Lakhani

5 Things to Inspire You to Take Action Today

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We all have dreams.  We always have.  And yet at some point in our lives, some of us go chasing our dreams and others cast them aside and live life the way we’ve grown accustomed to.  And so, whether you’re already chasing your dreams or you’ve all but forgotten about them, I want to inspire you to take action – today.

The truth is, we all have a dream, or if you prefer – a goal, and not only that, but we all have a gift too.  And I believe that we should all be living our lives in such a way that we give our gift to the world, because then and only then, will we be living our lives with purpose.  You can read more about my beliefs right here, and hopefully get even more inspired!

Inspiration #1: Days will come and go, no matter what

Where do you want to be a year from now?  Time is going to tick along.  You’re going to get to that one year mark in exactly one year.  It’s going to happen.  And at that point, do you want to be exactly where you are today, or do you want to be one step closer to your dream life, if not living it?  Time will pass, no matter what.  Think about all the things you already wish you would have done in your life.  Do you want to add one more thing to that list?    

Inspiration #2: Feeling your best, every day

What if you could feel great, purposeful, energized, excited and content every day?  Even if not every day, what if you could feel those things almost every day?  Wouldn’t you do whatever it takes to get there?  That is the result of creating a life that’s filled with purpose.  And creating a life filled with purpose starts with identifying your goals and your dreams, and then working to achieve them.  

Inspiration #3: Success is inevitable

What if you knew that success was inevitable?  What if you knew and truly believed that if you put in the work, and you continued to invest in your goals, that you would eventually accomplish them?  Would you start now?  Because realistically, it’s going to take the same amount of time whether you start now, tomorrow or next year.  So the sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll reach your goal, right?  

Inspiration #4: Time is available to us all

There is always enough time.  It’s counterintuitive that a lot of people don’t get started on their dreams and their goals because “there isn’t enough time”.  And yet there are others who also only have 24 hours in a day but who accomplish so much within that timeframe.  All it takes is drive and determination to “find” that lost time.  And whether it takes a month, a year or 5 years to accomplish your goals, knowing that you’re working towards it is so satisfying that you just might “find” more and more time in your day.   

Inspiration #5: We CAN build a better world  

A friend of mine once asked me this thought-provoking question, “What if all jobs paid equally?  People would then do the things they loved.  They wouldn’t pursue higher-paying jobs just for the money.  Everyone would do what everyone was best at, what they enjoyed doing.  Imagine how much better people would feel.  Imagine how much better products and services would be, and customer service, too.”  I want you to think about that too.  How much better would the world be if we all pursued our dreams?  If we all did the things that we were great at?  If we all did the things that we were passionate about doing?  

Putting it all into perspective…

I’m not saying be reckless, abandon everything and start living your dream life even if it’s beyond your means.  But I AM saying take a step towards it.  The possibility of turning your dream life to reality is constrained only by your actions.  And that, in turn, means this is really in your hands, and your hands alone.  You can choose to carry on the way you are today, getting the results you’re getting today.  Or you can make a change, starting today, starting right now.  You can do the things you need to do to move you one step closer to your goals.  In fact, only you can do this for yourself.  No one else can do it for you.  

Remember: You can do this.  You were born to do this.  

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What does it really mean to be unique?

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As the online business world continues to boom, many new businesses are sprouting up that are eerily similar to other, larger, more established businesses.  There is a thin line between learning from the success of others and flat-out copying them.  The former is recommended, the latter is not.  You want your business to be different, to be unique, to deliver something no one else does.  So then that raises the question: What does it really mean to be unique?  

Competing: The two factors

In the world of business, you’re only ever competing on one of two things: price or value.  

When your business offers nothing different, nothing unique, nothing that sets it apart, you inevitably end up competing on price.  The only way to continue to get customers to purchase from you is to drop your prices lower than the competition.  And the reason for that is because there is no other differentiator.  Your product or service and your competitors’ products or services are the same.  So the decision factor becomes the price.  

On the other hand, when you offer something that others in your industry do not offer, then you have the opportunity to compete on value.  Essentially, customers will choose you because they want that additional value, or that value that is different from others.  Will all customers choose you?  No, of course not.  But those that will are the ones that you should be targeting anyway.  They are the ones who fit the description of your ideal customer.  And so because they appreciate the additional value you provide, they will be willing to pay for it.  And so the decision factor here is the value, not the price.

The link between value and price

You might be thinking that there is a decision that is made between the additional value and the additional price.  And you’re right.  The additional value you provide must be in line with the additional price of your product or service.  Customers absolutely do have a threshold of how much they are willing to pay for the additional value.  So before you price your product or service, it is highly recommended that you get a feel for this.  

So now that you can see the benefit in providing a product or service that offers additional or differentiated value, how can you make sure that your product or service is created that way?  Well, this is where we talk about being unique.  The idea behind building a product or service that is unique is that it offers something that others do not offer.  

There are three ways you can do this

The first way is to have a product or service that is so unique that no one else offers it.  This is known as product innovation.  For example, when the iPod came out, this was its edge.

The second way you can do this is to have a better product or service – something that already exists in the world, but which you provide incremental value around.  So for example, lifetime access to courses was one of these, but since becoming popular and more “the norm”, they’re not a differentiator anymore.  Providing better customer care, a higher level of service, a longer guarantee, a better quality product, a product that does not contain any toxic chemicals – these are all things you can include to differentiate your product or service and elevate it from the competition.  If you’re a coach or a teacher, this could be your unique method or your unique point of view.  

And the last way you can do this is to make your product or service available in a market in which it currently does not exist.  This is a great way to ensure you don’t have any competition. However, it requires plenty of research and an operating model designed to support a business in a place or space that others have avoided.  My favorite example of this is Carmike Cinemas which operates only in towns of 200,000 inhabitants or less.  Their entire business model is built around this, which demonstrates how a large cinema group would not be able to turn a profit in these areas, if they were to use their existing operating models.  

What makes your product or service unique?

So where does this leave you?  Well, whether you have a product or a service, it is critical in this day and age, more than ever, to know what makes you unique.  Spend some time figuring it out.  If you’re a service provider, do you provide something that others in your industry don’t?  Can you leverage that and make it a centerpiece or a highly marketed point of differentiation?  If you’re a product-based business, what features or aspects of your product are not available in your competitors’ products?  Again, you’ll want to look at leveraging that and making it a highly marketed point of differentiation.  

What if you can’t find anything unique about your product or service?

Now, what if you can’t find a point of differentiation?  Well, the only way to truly know if you are offering something that is different is to compare the features and characteristics of your product or service with that of your competitors.  So grab a piece of paper, list out all the characteristics, and create a comparison.  Now, what’s different?  If there STILL isn’t anything that pops out that makes your product or service different, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.  Find a gap in the market and fill it.  Find something that no one else is offering, and offer it.  Find something that your soon-to-be customers want and provide it to them.  

So, what does it really mean to be unique?

Having a product or service and saying it’s unique doesn’t have to refer to it in its entirety.  A unique product or service can be something that exists in the world, but with a different set or combination of characteristics.  It’s always great to have and to know what separates you from the crowd, but that by no means requires you to fall into the product innovation category.  Remember that there are other ways to stand out.  

The Power of Questions

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If you’ve been thinking about whether you need a coach in your life, particularly a business coach, keep reading.  You see, the benefits of a business coach are two-fold: (1) You learn their strategies and methods, drawing from their skills and their experience (2) You build your “business muscles” which help you beyond the coaching program.  How?  Through the power of questions.  

When you work with a coach, particularly when you work 1:1, your coach will ask you questions that help you clarify your thoughts, your goals, your next steps, your vision – pretty much everything you need to get done in your business.  These questions are not one-off questions.  They will come back again and again throughout your business life and entrepreneurial journey.  And it is these questions that you will learn to ask yourself whenever you’re feeling confused, lost or at a crossroad.  

So you might be thinking: well, can’t I just ask myself these questions now?  And the honest answer to that is, sure, you can ask your questions… but will they be the RIGHT questions?  Because the power of questions is in asking the right ones at the right time.  And that takes experience, skill, practice and working with different clients and different stages of their business.  But the good news is that once you know what these questions are, you can absolutely begin asking them to yourself and exploring your answers, every time they’re needed.  

So let’s look at some places where the power of questions will help, and more than that, let’s look at HOW they can help.  We’re going to explore three business “phases” and break down the way in which the right questions will help move you through them.  This is by no means all the phases nor is it all the possible questions or ways in which coaching questions can help you.  These are a sample of what’s possible.  

Phase #1: Questions to help you find your purpose, your aligned business idea and your vision 

When you’re starting your business, and even before you’ve taken the first step, you’ll be going through a phase where you’re still building that business idea.  You’re probably trying to pick something that aligns to your future vision of your life and your lifestyle.  (If not, you absolutely should be!) And you’re trying to figure out whether it’ll work and how exactly it’ll work. 

At this stage of your business lifecycle, you should be asking yourself questions around what you would be best suited to start, what your future life looks like, and whether your business fits in with that future vision.  Questions around a day in your daily life in the future will help you explore this area deeply and see whether you’re working towards something that is truly aligned with your purpose and your life vision, or not.  

Phase #2: Questions to collect feedback to improve your product/service

As you begin to build your product or service, and you start testing or even selling it, you’ll want to know what your customers or clients really and truly think about it.  This is when you’ll want to collect feedback from them. 

The questions that you ask your customers should serve three purposes: understanding their impact of your product or service on their lives, gathering feedback on the actual product or service, and lastly, finding out what else they would like.  It’s this combination of three groups of questions that will help you create better products and services, market them in a manner that makes them irresistible and develop new ideas for your business.      

Phase #3: Questions to help you gain clarity on your strategy, your next steps and the path you choose to pursue

As your business takes off and you start selling your products or services, you’ll find yourself having to make many, many, many decisions along the way.  These decisions vary from how to spend your time, to what to focus on next, to whether you should pursue a partnership or start a YouTube channel.  The possibilities in business are endless, and so your options and the questions to help you decide how to move forward will be as well. 

So at this point in your business, you’ll want to be exploring the paths that are most aligned to where you are and what you want to achieve at that time.  You’ll also want to make sure you’re picking strategies and tactics that are aligned to you and your strengths.  Lastly, you’ll want to make sure that your chosen path is still in alignment with your larger vision.  

Why questions work

There is something about being asked a question and having to formulate your response to it.  Often, we give a response and it sits well with us.  Sometimes, even as soon as we respond, we back-peddle and say “no, that’s not what I meant”.  If this has ever happened to you, then you’ve experienced the real power of questions – the way in which they make us really explore what we want and what feels right.  

Without questions, we often find ourselves mulling over the same options, over and over again, thinking and re-thinking about scenarios, decisions to be made and paths to follow.  It is only when asked to provide a solid answer, that we finally move into making that decision.  

How to use the power of questions

I mentioned earlier that a coach can help you, precisely because coaching is all about asking questions to guide a client to find their path.  A coach is also skilled and experienced in their coaching niche and so will be able to choose the right questions to ask.  But there are other options as well.  I have found two great options outside of coaching that have helped me tremendously. 

The first option is journalling.  Whenever I find myself at a crossroad, I journal it out.  I write down my question.  I explore options.  I map out scenarios.  Sometimes, I do this over and over and over again, until I find the answer that resonates best with me.  Journalling combined with coaching is extremely powerful, but it’s also great on its own.  

The second option is starting a mastermind.  You can easily do this, on your own, for free.  All you need is 2-3 more members to start it.  Every week, you’ll meet, and one person will be allocated the “hot seat” for the session.  They present a challenge they’re facing and the rest of the group begins to ask questions to help them find clarity.  They might even share resources or provide an experience-backed point of view or piece of advice.  Masterminds made up of the right people are an excellent place to get asked questions you might not have thought of before.  

Leveraging the power of questions

Armed with this information, it’s now up to you to take action.  Will you start journalling?  Will you create a mastermind?  Will you hire a coach?  Whichever path you choose, remember this: you stop growing when you stop asking questions.  So keep those questions coming, seek new ones and ones that really push you to think, explore, learn and grow.  

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Three Common Obstacles to Business Success

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You’re here because you have big dreams.  Am I right?  There is a business you either want to start or want to grow.  But sometimes, it just seems so hard.  I’ve been through it, I’ve seen it happen with my clients.  These are the three common obstacles to business success.  And they’re definitely not what you think they are.  

Now before I drive into these three things, I just want to point out that they are not in any particular order.  They’re not listed in order of largest to smallest or smallest to largest.  The obstacles affect people in different ways.  And these are dependent on you, your personality, skills, experience and your individual business.  Ready?  Let’s dive in. 

Obstacle #1 –  Not know where to start or what to do

This is definitely very common among entrepreneurs and small business owners that are in the early phases of their business – either still thinking about it or having just started out.  Of course, it’s also quite expected.  Starting a business can be daunting, and knowing what needs to be done isn’t something any of us are born with.  

But this isn’t an issue reserved only for those starting a business.  Many of my clients already have businesses.  They need help figuring out their next move – which is mostly around how to grow, expand, launch in a new market and get more customers.  

So not knowing where to start or what to do can be an obstacle for you at any stage of your business lifecycle.  And when this happens, people tend to fall into the trap of getting overwhelmed…. and then paralyzed.  

Sometimes, when you don’t know where to start, it feels like looking up at a huge rocky mountain that you need to get to the top of.  Or worse yet, a deep dark hole that you need to jump into.  And then, if and when you start looking into how to do the thing you need to do, whether that’s start your business or scale it, you get hit with information overload.  And that is when the overwhelm kicks in.  And then the paralysis as you look at all the different pieces of advice and “pathways” and courses and programs and you just can’t be sure which one is the “right” one.  

Let me fill you in on a little secret.  There is a reason people hire coaches, take courses, get mentors and join programs.  It’s so that they only follow ONE path.  Because the truth is, there are many paths to success.  In fact, if you keep working towards your goal, you’ll get there.  But what you don’t want is to be jumping from one path to another.  Because then, you’re not really on any path, are you?  

“There are many paths to success”

But there’s also the overwhelm because of all the questions racing around in your head.  So maybe you haven’t started your research, maybe it’s not even information overload.  It could be questions overload – questions that you have and for which you have no answers (yet!).  

So whether you’re overwhelmed with all the information you collected, or you’re at a loss because you haven’t started yet and you’re just not sure where to start, rest assured that this is a common obstacle that pretty much all business owners face at some point in their businesses.  

Obstacle #2: Lacking confidence

The second obstacle that business owners face is having to put themselves “out there” in order to start or scale their businesses.  And this can be very uncomfortable for many people.   I have personally seen that even those with incredible skills and who are mind-blowing at what they do often struggle with this.  And on some level, it comes down to confidence.    

Set’s look at what happens when you lack the confidence needed to move your business forward.  When you lack the confidence you need as a business owner, you end up playing small.  Your subconscious kicks in and the steps you take across product/service development, marketing, sales and anything else in your business are such that they are aligned to the level of confidence you have.  Or to the level of visibility you think you deserve to be at.  So when that level is low, your outward activities will be smaller than if you were truly feeling confident. 

The good news (yes there’s good news!) is that you can easily overcome this with a good cheerleader (or cheerleading squad) in your corner.  You can try these options, which are 100% free: find an accountability partner, create an accountability group or put together a mastermind of like-minded people.  Use your person or your group to keep each other motivated, accountable and moving forward.  Ask questions, offer perspectives and explore ideas together.  You’re going to get an output that is equal to the effort you and others put into the group.  So make it worth everyone’s time and give it your all.  

Of course, you can always join a program, hire a coach or find a mentor.  The truth is, you will naturally be more inclined to put effort into something that you’re paying for.  But more than that, you’re more inclined to put effort into something you believe in.  Something that makes you feel good.  Something that you truly and genuinely enjoy.  So if you are going to hire a coach or a mentor, or if you’re going to join a program, make sure it’s with someone who has a positive effect on you.  Someone who motivates you.  Someone who pushes you to be the best version of you that you can possibly be.  

Obstacle #3 – Having only one perspective

And that brings us to the third obstacle.  Being just one.  Just one person with just one perspective.  The best ideas come from exploring, dissecting and combining other ideas.  And that is very difficult to do when you’re a solopreneur.  

So yes, joining a group like the ones I talked about in the previous section can help you with this obstacle, too.  But there’s also some inner work that needs to be considered.  

Often, as business owners, as people building our own businesses, we tend to think we know best.  It is, after all, our own business that we’re building.  These are our thoughts, our dreams, our hard work.  But I have found that taking in other people’s perspectives, considering them, and then objectively (not emotionally!) deciding whether they could work for me and my business has always taken me up a notch.  It’s always given me something more, something better, something stronger and more powerful to create and provide my clients. 

So even if you are part of an accountability group, a mastermind, or if you have a coach or are part of a program, stay open to other perspectives.  You don’t ever have to change your goal, but the path to get you there can be lined with opportunities you had never thought of.  And it’s those opportunities that could help you hit your mini-goals, your milestones and open up new doors for you along your path.  

Do any of these obstacles resonate with you?

So you have a dream.  There is a business you either want to start or want to grow.  Now that you’re aware of these three common obstacles to business success, what will you do differently?  

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Launching 101

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Launching 101

Launching… the absolute best way to connect with your audience and really showcase your best work and all the value you provide.  I absolutely love launching, and I want to share my Launching 101 tips with you so you can fall in love with launching too!

First, let’s get clear on what a launch is.  I think it’s a much more exciting term than “campaign”  but really, that’s what a launch is.  It’s a marketing campaign designed to create immediate sales.  I like to think of it more as a sales strategy than a marketing strategy, because the marketing that goes along with it is focused on an event that is a conversion event, but whether you agree or not, launching is still a great strategy.  And it’s something you should definitely be doing in your business.  

What is Launching?

So what does launching look like?  We said that a launch is a marketing campaign, but the special thing about a launch is that it leads to an event.  And this event is something I like to call a conversion event.  There are many terms used for this particular event, and conversion event is quite popular.  It also brings to light the reason for the event, which I like.  The event is there to convert people.  To showcase the value you and your business provide and to take your attendees through a journey and get them to purchase your product or service.  

Why is Launching Important?

And so before we move into how to create a launch, let’s first cover why a launch is a great strategy for your business.  To do this, I’m going to compare two scenarios.  In both of these scenarios, you’ve got a new product or service (or an existing one, it actually doesn’t have to be new) and you’re going to be releasing your product or service and hopefully generating lots of sales from it.  

Scenario A: Regular Marketing Campaign 

In this scenario, you’ll create lots of great content.  In fact, the content you create will create bridges that show your potential customers why they should purchase your product or service.  You cover all your content pillars and move people closer to wanting to purchase from you.  Great!  Eventually you open up your cart, ask for the sale and I’m certain you’ll get sales! 

Scenario B: Launch Campaign

In the launch campaign, you’ll do all the regular marketing campaign activities AND you’ll also plan an event – the conversion event.  In the conversion event, you move your potential customers through a journey that allows them to solve a challenge they’re facing and get a win! Yes, it might be a small or mini win (because you only have so much time to do it in), but that doesn’t matter… it’s a win nonetheless!  At the end of the event, you open up your cart, ask for the sale and the expectation now (especially since this entire article is about launches) is that you’ll make MORE sales than you could have in Scenario A. 

So, will you?  I would go with yes.  Because not only did you do all the regular marketing campaign activities and demonstrate to your audience why they should buy your product or service, but you also did this one additional thing: you gave them a taste of your product or service, live.  If you’re a service provider, then you likely showed them what working with you would be like, which is absolutely gold! And if you sell physical or digital products, then you likely demonstrated how your product would be beneficial to them, in a live environment, with lots of engagement.  So yes, I’d expect and can almost guarantee that you would sell more at the end of a conversion event than without it.  

Elements of a Launch Plan

If you’re with me, and can see how a conversion event within a full launch plan can help you sell more of your product or service, then let’s go ahead dive into how you can do this.  

I’ve broken the launch plan down into 5 steps:

Step #1: Schedule things out

So here’s what happened with me earlier in my business.  I would “go with the flow”, “be flexible” and “adjust as needed”.  And that resulted in delayed launches, not enough marketing power behind the actual conversion event and overall less-than-spectacular launches.  

But now I know better.  Launches need a schedule.  Without the schedule, you won’t go as hard.  And if you don’t go hard, you won’t win big.  

So here’s what you need to include in your launch schedule:

  • Marketing in the run-up to the event – for the event 
  • Marketing in the run-up to the event – for your product or service
  • The event
  • Post-event questions, sales calls, messages etc to respond to
  • Cart open
  • Cart close
  • Emails pre-event (to get people to your event)
  • Emails post-event (sales)

Step #2: Create your conversion event

The first thing to do here is to pick something that people will want to sign up for.  Again, we come back to offering something they WANT, not necessarily what you know they NEED.  It took me a little while to understand that, so let me explain it just a little.  To attract people, you have to provide the thing they are actually looking for, even if you know that it might not be the answer to their challenges.  And the reason for that is because the answer to their challenges is very likely 3, 4 maybe even 10 steps down the road, so they’re not there yet.  They’re at Step 1.  So give them Step 1.  And then you can walk them down Steps 2 to 10 after that – after they’ve passed Step 1.  

And the second thing you should do is make sure they leave with a win.  Do not worry about giving away too much.  When you provide value, people see your value.  If your event doesn’t wow them, they are not going to be swayed into buying your product or service.  

And lastly, a friendly reminder that even if they don’t purchase your product or service now, they are moving closer to it.  It takes some people multiple events before they’re ready to buy.  You might be one of them!   

Step #3: Market your event

Ok so now you have your schedule ready and there’s an allotted time for marketing in the launch plan before the launch event.  Don’t forget to market your event!  Depending on how long of a runway you have, schedule in different formats and copy to get people into your event.  Use all channels – email, different social media platforms, your email signature, talk about it in groups you’re in, really anywhere and everywhere you can think of.  

Step #4: Continue regular social media marketing 

And while you’re marketing your event, don’t forget to continue building your following and engagement on social media by creating a solid content strategy.  In the run-up to your launch, try to choose content pillars that are most relevant to the offer you’re going to sell.  You want to strategically be creating content across your social media channels that move your followers closer to purchasing your product or service.  

Step #5: Be very clear on your offer

Remember this: a confused mind never buys.  So make it super simple for the people who you’re selling to and don’t provide a whole range of options for them to choose from.  It’s hard to say how many things you can have in your offer.  If it’s a product, you might have several different items within a collection, and that’s totally fine.  But in that situation, what you don’t want is to be launching multiple collections at the same time.  

And if you’re a service-based business, then try not to offer more than 2 options – maybe a regular and a premium service, or a DIY version and a full-option version.  Another thing to bear in mind is to either offer the same service/course/program at two levels or two offer two completely different services/courses/programs.  You want to make it easy for your audience to pick one.  

Step #6: Provide post-event sales calls or Q&A opportunities

Lastly, offer a CTA (call-to-action) to schedule a call if anyone has questions or wants more information.  Provide an email address, or set up some Q&A sessions.  You can even tackle questions asked via email in your Q&A sessions.  Quite often, people need a little help in deciding whether a product or service is right for them, so you want to make sure you have that factored into your plan.  

And remember that sometimes, your job is to let someone know that your product or service is actually not right for them.  There is no shame in doing that.  In fact, if your product or service isn’t what they’re looking for, then you should absolutely make sure they don’t purchase it, because they’re only going to end up complaining, wanting a refund or posting a poor review. 

So you’ve got to think of your sales calls as two-way fit assessments.  Is your product/service right for them, and are they right for your product/service?

Incorporating Launches into your Business

That covers launching 101! I hope this has shed some light on your next launch, and more than that I hope this is the first step towards you enjoying launches and incorporating them into your business as regularly as needed.    

Remember that you can launch as often or as infrequently as you like and as your business requires.  Some business owners choose to do back-to-back launches every month, others once a year.  The most frequent, from what I’ve seen, is quarterly.  That gives you enough time to plan, build rapport with your audience, and then put your focus and energy on one launch.  However, this is your business, and ultimately, you are the decision maker.  Do what’s right for you and your business.  

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5 Ways to Stand Out as a Service-Based Business

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Oftentimes, when we think about businesses that are unique and stand out, we tend to immediately bring to mind innovative startups such as Tesla or Amazon.  But the truth is, every business has the ability to stand out.  Not only that, but every business should stand out from its competitors.  To shed some light on how to do just that, read on for my 5 ways to stand out as a service-based business.  

The service industry is booming.  Many small businesses are now in the space of “knowledge brokers”.  These tend to be based on personal experience, such as people who lost weight teaching others how to do the same.  Or a mother who helped her child overcome allergies or intolerances now sharing that information with others.  Most business coaches teach things they, too, have accomplished.  As do many life coaches.   

But it doesn’t stop there, many talented individuals have created their own businesses around their talents.  Photographers and videographers, artists and musicians, teachers and motivational speakers – to name a few.  

Regardless of which industry you’re in, there are likely many similar businesses.  And so, to carve out your own space with your own target audience and elevate yourself from the competition, you need to find ways to be unique.  Below are 5 ways to stand out as a service-based business.  You don’t need to do all of them – just pick one or two that resonate and put your effort and energy behind them.  

Standing Out Tip #1: Target an under-served audience

A great way to stand out in your industry is to target an audience that others are not serving.  If you know of hairstylists who specialize in curly hair, or life coaches who specialize in building confidence in women, then you’ve seen examples of this.  

But to really push yourself to explore this option, consider your regular audience, and then brainstorm as many other groups of people who could use your services but are very different from your regular audience.  

Here’s an example: I help entrepreneurs and small business owners build, develop and scale their businesses.  If I went through this exercise, I might go down the path of identifying children as a target audience, because they’re great learners, very creative and might one day want to start their own business.  Using that train of thought, I’d probably end up with the idea of an entrepreneur school for children.  

Standing Out Tip #2: Create a unique and delightful customer experience – before, during and after your service

Quite often, we consider the customer experience starting from parts of the customer journey that are within our ecosystem.  But really, that’s limiting your potential for making an impact on a potential customer.  And more than that, it’s limiting your potential for making a huge impact on a potential customer because you likely will be the only business engaging with them at that point in their journey.  

So I encourage you to consider your customer or potential customer’s entire journey, starting much earlier than their engagement with your brand or business.  At these early points, is there anything you can do to position yourself as a leader in your industry?

Also look at the other end – after your service and engagement has concluded.  Some service-based businesses have already started looking at post-service experiences, such as sending flowers, chocolates or a gift after the service, or even following up a month or 6 months after coaching, for example.  

The powerful thing that comes out of these suggestions is not only that your customer might choose to purchase another service from you, but, probably more importantly, that they would recommend you to their friends because you’d be top of mind and would have delighted them with your extra service.  

Standing Out Tip #3: Talk about your values and your beliefs

A great way to connect with customers and potential customers is to have shared value and beliefs.  Often, we hesitate to share too much, but there are bonds that can be formed almost immediately between people who share similar values.

I have recently come across many service-based businesses who speak openly about their religious associations and views.  This may be a taboo topic, but it works well for attracting like-minded people into your world.  Someone who shares the same values or beliefs would very likely be more drawn to working with you versus someone else because they would feel bonded or connected with you over that value or belief.  

If you’re not comfortable getting too personal in your business, a great way around this is to find a value or belief around your business and anchor to that.  For example, I am a business coach who specializes in strategy.  I talk about strategy all the time, and I showcase the value and importance of it throughout my content.  I offer a completely different service to another business coach who might be more focused on marketing, for example, or sales, or “quick wins” instead of strategy.  

Standing Out Tip #4: Create powerful alignment between your brand visuals and the feeling you want to invoke in your clients

Something I love doing is ensuring my clients have visuals that match the feeling they want to invoke in their clients.  Brand strategy is all about invoking specific feelings in customers.  And so you want your branding, and particularly your visuals to invoke those feelings within your customers.  

If you were to go to the websites of social media accounts of some of your favorite brands, you’d find that just by looking at their content and their designs, you would feel certain emotions: calm, excited, happy, relaxed, inspired, motivated, pumped, energized.  

Try this exercise: go to the social media accounts of some small and corporate businesses.  Write down the feelings invoked in you.  Ask someone else to do the same, and see if they match.  A good brand strategy and well-design visuals should result in the both of you having similar (if not the same) feelings written down.  Now do this with your social media account or website.  What feelings do you want to invoke?  What feelings are currently invoked?  If needed, how can you change that?

Standing Out Tip #5: Niche down

We all know we need to niche down, but how far can you go?  I remember when I chose my makeup artist for our wedding, she asked me how I found her and why I chose her.  My answer: I wanted smokey eyes and she was the most talented from what I had seen.  Her response?  That was her speciality.  She was focused on creating smokey eye looks, and had spotted that opportunity because no one else in Italy was particularly great at it.  She has since also added to her niche with being an eyeliner queen, but the point is that she is known for specific things within her industry.  It’s not just make-up, it’s also not just being a wedding and fashion make-up artist.  She was known for something even deeper than that.  Similarly, my friend picked her make-up artist because she did the best “natural” looks.  What can I say? We’re clearly opposites.

The same applies with art, photography, videography, coaching, teaching… there has to be something within your industry that you niche down to so that you become known for that specific thing.  

How to Stand Out 

Like I said earlier, you absolutely don’t need to do all these at once.  Choose something you feel comfortable with and try it out for a few weeks.  See if you get more service inquiries, more engagement, and more sales.  If it works, stick with it.  If it doesn’t, try another suggestion.  Remember, there is no failure, only lessons.  

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Plan versus Action

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Somewhere along your business journey, I’m sure that either you or someone around you has brought up the question of spending time putting a plan together versus taking action and figuring things out along the way.  It seems to be a dichotomy.  But it’s not.  In the question of plan versus action, the truth is simple: there should be a continuous ebb and flow between planning and taking action. 

Entrepreneurs are known for taking quick action, versus traditional corporates where planning, exploring different strategies and ensuring perfection before moving forward is the norm.  But neither extreme is the right way forward.

As entrepreneurs, we often come across the advice to “take messy action”.  And yes, taking action early on is absolutely necessary.  You learn by doing, not by thinking.  You validate your business idea, your product/service, your offer, your marketing, your branding and messaging – all of it – by taking action and gathering feedback.  But that’s not to say that you should take action without thinking things through.  

What goes into planning?

Planning is the first step in your business.  When I talk about planning, I don’t mean to immediately jump into a business plan.  Nor do I mean anything detailed like a content plan.    Initial planning is about getting clarity on your business idea.  Initial planning is getting clear on your vision, the problem you’re solving, how you’re going to solve it, the solution you’re providing, who your ideal customers are, and how you’re going to monetize your idea.  It involves a lot of research and results in capturing your business idea in the structure or framework of a business model.  Again, this won’t be as detailed as after you’ve taken action, but what it does is it allows you to be able to articulate your product or service and create prototypes or beta versions to test and gather feedback on.  

What goes into action?

Once you have your business idea, you absolutely should start testing it.  If you have a product, gather feedback on it by offering some free samples, or a discounted initial price.  If you have a service, begin a beta phase, again either free or at a discounted initial price.  In this phase, you are testing your product or service, gathering as much information and feedback about it, and deciding on the changes you will make to it.  Your changes will include adding, removing, upgrading and downgrading elements of your product or service.  At this point, you will also gather important information on the messaging you will later on use in your marketing.  Once you have made the changes, depending on how big they are, you can either test again or move into your launch.  

The cycle between the two

Often, we’ll find that there is a cycle back and forth between the two, particularly when the product or service being created is highly innovative.  So you’ll do some planning, then move into action, and then go back into planning, then back into action, etc.  The reason this happens is because in each cycle, you’ll make changes that are larger compared to if the product or service had already existed in the market.  You might, however, still want to go through a second round of planning and action, even if your product or service exists, depending on what it is and how many changes you’re making. 

How much time to spend in planning before moving into action

The question of plan versus action is not black and white.  It’s a balancing act that you need to figure out for yourself, your business and your product/service.  And there are several things that will drive where that point of balance is for you.  On top of the questions I suggest below, it’s important to factor in what makes you comfortable.  If you prefer to spend a bit more time in planning, then do it! It’s your business and your decision.  But always check back to make sure you’re not procrastinating because of a hidden fear driven by a mindset block or a limiting belief.  

How innovative is your idea?

The more you’re pushing boundaries, the more you’ll want to get out and test your idea.  This might be a bit counter-intuitive, but the reason behind it is that it’s going to be very difficult to find existing data on a product or service that doesn’t exist.  So if your product or service doesn’t currently exist in the market, then you’ll need to generate that data yourself.  That is why the more innovative your idea is, the more quickly you’ll move onto action.  And in this case, your action will consist of prototyping, testing, collecting feedback, making changes as needed and then re-launching.  And the faster you can get through these, the more quickly you’ll have a product or service that you can sell.  

How many similar businesses are out there (who have already validated your idea)?

If, on the other hand, your product or service exists in some form in the market today (and makes money!), then you will probably spend more time on collecting information that will shape your specific business, your product/service and your offer.  And the reason for that is because data exists.  So instead of having to go out and generate data and feedback yourself, you can easily leverage the information that is already out there.  And you 100% should!   

How much is it going to cost to create or set up?

Another factor to consider is how much your new business venture is going to cost you, not just in terms of money, but also in terms of time, resources, and other lost opportunities.  If the cost is high, then you’ll most likely want to make sure you have a solid understanding of your customer needs, struggles, likes and dislikes (with regards to your product or service), the value you are providing and how it’s going to solve the problem that your customer has.  This is, of course, dependent on whether information exists for you to tap into.    

How much time do you have to spend on research and planning before you absolutely must begin bringing in revenue?

Lastly, your planning phase can be stretched out if you already have an existing income stream, are not in a hurry, and would prefer not to hustle and push yourself to get your business idea implemented quickly.  I love to see people spend an allocate amount of time to building their business (or a new revenue stream within their existing business) while still working a 9-to-5 job or delivering their existing products and services.  The great thing about this is that you don’t stress yourself out, you don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed and you don’t burn out.  The flipside, however, is allowing yourself to take too long or never getting it off the ground.  

Plan versus Action

Once you have an idea of where your business idea stands and how much time you should spend on planning before moving into action, you’ll need to figure out just what the planning stage entails and also, what the action stage entails.  So it’s time for you to decide – plan versus action?  How much time should you spend in each phase to generate the highest benefit for you and your business?    

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My Secret Formula to Create a Business you Love

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To create a business you love, make it as reflective of you as possible.  Why?  So that you’ll never feel like you have to do or be someone or something different in your business.  The path to this type of business is through designing it so that it maximizes the activities you love doing and attracts the customers you love working with.  This requires that you learn and embody what is authentically you.  Spend time figuring out every little part of you and your personality and showcase it so that you have fun in your business and attract like-minded people. 

Your business is a reflection of your interests, and is built on your likes, skills, talents and very importantly, your personality.  So whether you have a product or a service based business, let your true style and personality shine through your brand and your business.  

Uncovering the real you

Peel back your layers, explore your genuine personality, your thoughts and opinions, and your perspective on your area of expertise.  Let these be the basis for your business.  This is an eye opening experience, and one that not everyone is fortunate enough to go through.  

Give yourself the permission and the space to define who you really are.  This is your business, so you get to set the rules.  You absolutely don’t have to be professional in the traditional sense if that’s not who you are.  Similarly, you don’t have to be super casual either, if that’s not in line with your personality.  Figure out what makes you who you are, and magnify it.  

Being “on brand”

Yes, this is a business, but it is also your brand.  Your brand.  Yours.  Your brand has to be authentic and true to who you are.  You shouldn’t have to think about whether what you’re doing is “on brand”.  If it doesn’t feel like you, then it isn’t on brand.  It really is as simple as that.  When something feels 100% authentic and true to who you are, then you know it’s on brand.  This applies to written content, images, colors, opinions, content formats, specific words.. literally everything.  

In fact, on the language front, if you aren’t writing in the exact manner that you talk, then it’s safe to say you are not being on brand!  People want to read your content and feel like they are getting to know you.  One of the greatest compliments I received early on in my foray into entrepreneurship was that my articles were easy to read and felt “like a conversation between you and me”.  Yes! That was absolutely my aim.  I wanted it to feel that way.  And hearing that exact same feedback from multiple people was the confirmation and feedback I was waiting for.  

Learning NOT to conform

This might sound easy, but believe me, it’s harder than you’d imagine.  We grow up conforming to expectations and influences from people around us.  And when those expectations are no longer there, we tend to create similar ones and believe in them.  Common entrepreneurship beliefs are: “I can’t do this as well as [insert name of expert]”, “I shouldn’t be vulnerable or people won’t want to buy from me”, or even more damaging “I have to figure this out by myself or people won’t believe I can help them”.  

These negative beliefs weigh us down and prevent us from soaring as high as we could potentially go.  They are borne from our previous experiences, very likely tied to earlier (or current!) corporate and societal influences.  Let them go.  They are not truths, they are beliefs.  Replace them with beliefs that make you feel positive, inspired and motivated.

Building your brand

Discover what truly represents you – through words, visuals, experiences and opinions.  Build your business so it is a true representation of you.  This can be difficult for a lot of people because as I mentioned earlier, we spend the majority of our lives conforming to outside influences, and when given full reign, we tend to get lost in the expectations we now “expect” to have placed on us from new outside influences.  But this couldn’t be further from the truth.  In fact, when designing and building your own business, this will actually harm you and not do you any good at all.  

Choose your branding and develop a brand strategy that aligns completely to you and your unique position.  Ensure that your brand runs through all the touch-points that your customer might interact with your brand on.  The sign of great branding is when your customer recognizes your brand even before seeing your logo or your name.  Perhaps it’s the content, perhaps it the words, perhaps it’s the visuals.  Whatever it is, building that recognizable brand puts you ahead of your competition.  

Building your business model

Embed your brand and your vision into the business you create.  Choose, design and develop a business model that fully supports your vision of the future.  Thoughtfully and intentionally create development and delivery mechanisms for your product or service that are a joy for you to work on.  

Creating a business you love is rooted in knowing exactly what makes you happy and what you’d like your life to look like.  The truth is, you can create your business any way you want to.  When you go through the advice available to you on how to create your business, make sure you pick the things that you’re great at and that truly make you happy.  Create your business around you, not the other way around.  

Measuring your “success”

Measure your success by the amount of fun you have in your business.  This is such a game changer.  If you’re miserable, your customers will feel it.  Your brand and your business will not be able to attract customers in the same way they would if you were excited and truly believed in what you are doing.  

Attracting your ideal customers 

When you create a business that is a true reflection of who you are and what you believe in, you will attract like-minded people to it.  And the like-minded people you attract will undoubtedly become your most ideal customers.  

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