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Unless you were the star athlete or prom queen, being “different” in high school was challenging at best.
Your peers liked conformity—you were expected to follow the unwritten rules of their time and place. So if you were the nerd, the intellect with their head always in a book, the artist with the flamboyant, homemade outfits—you were different.
The lucky ones found their high school tribe and learned how to recognize kindred spirits when they went out into the world.
But somewhere deep in our psyche is still the small voice that says it’s safer to be more like everyone else: to belong, to be accepted, to be liked, to be loved.
And then there’s your business.
Being different—embracing what makes you truly unique and really putting it out there—makes you vulnerable.
In a GOOD way.
Different presents a clear choice to your clients, a chance to intrigue them and delight them at your very first encounter.
Imagine a rock music-loving, baseball-obsessed, serious foodie is starting a new company. Which consultant or advisor do you think he’d talk to first:
The one who has done over 100 start-ups?
The one who has done over 100 start-ups and mentions listening to a new band that weekend?
The one who has done over 100 start-ups, mentions listening to a new band that weekend and weaves baseball references into their materials?
The one who has done over 100 start-ups, mentions listening to a new band that weekend, weaves baseball references into their materials and can debate the difference between arugula and radicchio?
Imagine how thrilled your potential client would be to find not only a highly qualified advocate, but a kindred spirit. Picture him/her laughing out loud and then grabbing the phone or dashing off an email to hire you.
You’ve led with genuine delight.
And set the stage for more…