The most beautiful thing about business is that you can do it exactly how you want to do it.
Want to do a thank you video after a customer makes a purchase on your website showing yourself in a leotard doing a bad rendition of Irene Cara’s Flash Dance . . . What a feeling”?
Why not?
Want to do your weekly email newsletter as a video starring yourself with your feet up in front of your outdoor fire at home? Sounds cool to me, we don’t all need to be sitting in our office all the time.
Doing things differently regularly supports the creation of the most awesome businesses in the world.
We all get stuck doing things the same way as everyone else, because quite frankly we do need a way to do things that supposedly works.
But when someone does something differently, they often provide a fabulous new offering in the marketplace that benefits customers. And most importantly, earns them good money.
For example, Spudshed in Western Australia do groceries completely differently to the other supermarkets. Their stores are large sheds that are fitted out for the purpose, and they feature plenty of Western Australian grown fruit and vegetables, as well as other grocery and garden items. Personally, I don’t value the linoleum floors and the standardised lifeless corporate feel of all the other supermarkets, who often bring their fruit and vegetables in from elsewhere. I’m also not impressed with the way these supermarkets often sell only their branded products and one other option in certain grocery product lines, forcing out Australian businesses. Spudshed has decided to do things differently and aren’t forcing their own branded products on us continuously, so I get to support other Australian businesses when I buy my groceries. Spudshed stores also don’t use self-service checkouts, so you are actually served by a human being. It’s nice not to be left sweating, fumbling and swearing trying to do everything yourself at the checkout.
Another good example comes from FarmCo. There are way too many multinationals in Australian agriculture, that send their profits overseas. FarmCo does things differently. This business came out of the tiny town of Yerecoin in WA’s wheatbelt. They started as Yerecoin Traders farm supplies, café and general store, which is still a successful business in its own right. Later, they purchased a business premises in Moora when the opportunity arose, and developed an online store so that people could buy farm supplies from anywhere in Australia. This Australian family owned business has a key focus on providing awesome service to all its customers every time, and is a big supporter of its local community as well as a significant and growing employer in the area.
Another example of how doing things differently can pay huge dividends comes from Mike Michalowicz’s totally awesome book Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine. In the book, Mike talks about how a sporting team in the United States needed to dig themselves out of a rather precarious financial position and couldn’t afford the expensive ticketing systems for their games. These ticketing systems also required them to pay commissions on earnings to the ticketing business. So they found another way of doing this for a minute fraction of the cost, getting their tickets printed in a specific shape and colour that reflected the team’s brand. The tickets ended up being a fabulous marketing tool, and helped get this sporting team back on its feet and on the way to making solid profits again.
In summary, I wish you abundant joy, energy and endless delight in running your business, whatever way you choose to do this.
© Annemaree Jensen 2023