If you do the things everyone does the same way they do it, how will you stand out? How will you jump out and call out to your prospective customers?
I stumbled upon the story of Daniel Nartey, a Ghanaian who dresses up in suit to hawk water melon around Madina in Ghana’s capital. It sounded crazy, really crazy.
In his own words: “My pastor always says dress well no matter the job you do, so I decided to wear a suit. Some laugh at me, others encourage me and are willing to help me. I make 100% profit. I think it is because of how I dress, people notice me easily and want to buy from me”
The 25-year-old is a primary school teacher and sells watermelon during weekends and when the school is on vacation. He is saving up to buy an oven and wants to one day own his own snack bar.
His story got my head spinning, what can I do in my own industry (IT solutions for small businesses) that would be the equivalent of suiting up to sell a bunch of fruits? If I peddle my wares the same way everyone else does, I will just be yet another website designer.
The answer is probably obvious and staring at me in the face, yet somehow it requires a lot of thinking to produce such an idea.
If you do find such an idea, here is what to expect: first, they will laugh at you, but if it works then they copy you. It is simply business.
Business success in this digital times will depend a lot on how much you are able to stand out and not blend in with the others.
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Watching The World
- Uber, the Taxi service eating up the world has made a $3 billion bid for Nokia’s mapping service: HERE.
