One of the areas that people struggle with in business and in their career is “standing out.” Like the blue duck; finding a way to get the attention of others long enough to showcase the value you offer. Depending on the type of industry you are in, the best way to standout can be very interesting. For example if you’re a musician; Katie Perry’s stylish and artistic birthday cake dress or Michael Jackson’s iconic silver glove could be perfect for you, but if you’re a consultant—that approach may not work in your favor.
A more applicable way to look at differentiating is to focus on an “out of the ordinary way to help your paying customer.” So let’s say you run a daycare, how many new parents do you think would be more interested in sending their children to your daycare if they knew you offered complimentary education sessions? Now, every daycare may say they help the children further their education but what if you brought in experienced school teachers, or college level student teachers to help the children get a head start or a boost to their educational process. When parents or guardians hear that you are providing their child with a benefit like this at no additional cost to them, your daycare will have a very popular differentiator.
For those that are in the professional fields one way to differentiate yourself is to give your resume a face lift and turn it into a video. Instead of only having your resume on paper you can start a free YouTube channel and do a video talking about your work experience and the accomplishments. If you think about it, the company you are trying to have hire you does the same thing through commercials when they are trying to sell their products so why not do the same thing to get yourself hired?
While there are a number of ways to set yourself apart as a business or professional, find the one that makes more sense for you, try a few things and find the one that is the right fit for you and that will ultimately make you the blue rubber duck in the photo.
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