By: John Glover (MBA)
Letting your personality and passions shine can help set your business apart from the crowd. As a small business entrepreneur, it might be time to head back to the drawing board to make sure your ideas are not just your same old run-of-the-mill ideas that have been done a thousand times over. The thing that sets people up for success is creativity, and letting your personality shine can help you relate to consumers and drive sales. Sticking to the status quo might be the driving force that brings your business to the ground.
Did you know that there are more than 33 million small businesses in the United States? Small businesses are what create thousands of jobs each year and help drive the buzzing economy. Without small businesses, people would be left behind. That’s why it’s so important to ensure your success as an entrepreneur as much as possible. Not only does your livelihood depend on it, but employment as a whole depends on your business being successful.
Setting yourself apart from the crowd starts with a new and creative idea. What sort of passions do you have, and how can you incorporate that into your business? You might think you need to separate your passions and personality to create something successful, but it intrigues new customers. People want to invest in a business that provides them with a product or a service and a chance to relate to new people and create connections. Customers want to feel heard and seen, so creating a people-centric business model can help achieve that goal.
“Creating a business is all about relating to your audience on a personal level. Whether it’s the mission of your business that intrigues them or even just your personality as an owner, people want to feel connected to something. In my experience, I have always used my sense of humor and comedic personality to reach people. Entrepreneurship and comedy actually have a lot in common,” says Alan Siege, CEO and host of The Pitch Show.
Your business reflects you as a person, and you shouldn’t let that stop you from creating something great. Instilling your values into your company’s mission creates a unique business culture. Sometimes, bigger corporations get caught up in profits instead of relating to their consumers as a whole. This creates a disconnect between buyer and seller, which is not good for any business.
Adding a little personality and flare to your business is also a game of trial and error, and that’s okay. You might try things out, and they don’t end up working, but staying on your feet and adjusting to your customers can help you stay on the path to success. When the going gets tough, don’t give up.
“For both, you must be able to shift or change gears quickly, pivot when necessary, take a beat, and then move on. Comedy is always about sussing the moment based on what’s there to decide how to connect with the audience again. The point is one has to be ready to make decisions quickly and act on them quickly. This is so similar to the challenges of being an entrepreneur. What worked yesterday may not work today, and you must constantly keep watching and listening to ensure you’re on track,” Siege says.
There are no set rules for how a business should look and operate. If it is all the same, it will not stand out amongst the crowd, and success will be harder to achieve. Leaning into your creativity and personality draws people in. Why would they want to invest in a business that has already been done? Uniqueness first intrigues customers, and personal connections make them stay.
People, for the most part, want to develop connections and relationships, and small businesses are a great way to create a new community of people with similar interests. As an entrepreneur, your business has to relate to them on a personal level and keep them coming back for more. How can you incorporate your personality into your small business? Success is just around the corner.
Published by: Khy Talara
