Setting Yourself Apart from the Other Guys

Describing Your Strengths Can Help You Make the Most of What Makes You Special

By David Lewis

Great, you're a Web designer! Fantastic, you sell gifts online! Wonderful, you make cool widgets! But, to be blunt, so do many other people.

Thumb through the Yellow Pages; search a sea of Web sites, and one thing you will soon find is that there are lots of people doing exactly what you do. Now that you've hung out your shingle for the world to see, step back for a moment and look at what makes you so special.

But How Do I Know What Makes Me Unique?

Trying to figure out what makes your business unique and different isn't easy. At the moment, I'm struggling to define my business. What began as a desktop publishing business has evolved into a Web-based services business … and even that last description is too broad. So, I've taken to asking some really good clients why they continue to work with me.

Ask your repeat clients why they continue to do business with you. Some may mention price, but what you should really be looking for is feedback on your skills, your service, and your ability to make them comfortable and secure in what you are doing for them. And then, if you can, and they agree, take those comments and place them on your site. There is nothing better than seeing customer feedback on a site.

Asking my clients has certainly helped, but I'm still struggling a bit. At the moment, I've settled on Internet services and consulting … yes, I know, still broad. See, I told you it was tough! :)

Search for the Substance

Describing the strengths of your business is much like describing yourself in your resumé. You want to highlight the positive, focus on your achievements, and skills, and show why you and your business is the right choice for your potential customer.

Let's say you develop Web sites for a living. Right now you do it all. You do the layout and design, you do the graphics, you name it,you do it. But what you really like to do and are really good is writing/editing the content. So, why not begin to move away from the things that to you are drudgery, to the things that you excel at? This is not something you can do overnight, but something you can evolve into.

So, how do you generate business solely from your niche? How about this? Approach other Web designers in your area and look at forming partnerships. Now this may take a bit to get past that competition thing, but I'll bet many Web designers hate writing and editing almost as much as you don't like designing … could you perhaps trade services?

You scratch their writing/editing back while they scratch your design back. Not only is this rewarding for both of you, but you may have just tapped into a new stream of business, AND, you are starting to develop that one area of business that really makes you get up  in the morning.

Promote Your Uniqueness

Great, you are now unique and have a great niche to leverage, but how to you promote it? Here are a few ideas:

• Start with your Web site
• Highlight your skills on a "skills" page
• Add it to your META description information so search engines can find you
• Create a "strategic partners" page where you can trade links with others in your network, and of course they can do the same
• Set up unique looking "niche" sub-sites on your server that only promote one aspect of your business. Submit these sub-sites uniquely from your main Web site

Network, Network, Network!

Attend trade association meetings where you can meet others in which to network and trade services with.

I don't have the complete skills to handle all projects that come my way, but I do know a great network of talented writers/editors, programmers, and graphic artists.

I use these people because I know they have strengths in the areas I need. They've carved out a niche for themselves and I leverage it. And it goes both ways. These same people contract out to my business to provide their Web design and project management services as they know that's one of the things my business does well. One important thing, always keep your ears open for potential partners. You'll never know where they can creep up.

Post Your Resume On One Of The Many Internet Job Boards

Okay, so you aren't looking for a job, but if you have a skill that would suit a contract position, wouldn't you want someone to find you? Here are some examples:

• Monster.com
• Jobfactory.com
• HotJobs.com
• FreeAgent.com
• Visit Internet message boards that relate to your business

Find the ones that can somehow link to your niche and begin posting answers to questions you are familiar with. Check deja.com for some of the many message boards that are available (http://www.deja.com)

NOTE: Don't advertise your services directly as that is often frowned upon. A nice signature file at the bottom of your email can suffice. I've received several requests for quotes on projects just by helping out in certain groups.

Don't expect this new road to be shortcut. It may take time to foster and grow this new branch of your business, but, if you keep at it and are persistent, you'll be amazed at where it could lead. You may even find, like I have, that you are working in areas you never thought possible. Good luck!

David Lewis owns and operates an eight-year-old, one-man, electronic publishing company, taybridge.communications that provides a broad range of online services.

Prior to starting his own business, David did several tours in the retail sales sector in areas ranging from food services to sporting goods.

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