Discover Why Creativity Is The New Safe

I recently had lunch with a lady that I’ve known for a long time. She has been a successful entrepreneur and has carved out a large portion of the market for the products and services that she offers. However, lately her business has been floundering and she has lost a lot of her enthusiasm for what she does.

From talking with her, I realized that the main challenge that she had, was that she still trying to go forward flogging the same old formulas that she has been selling for years. Essentially, there was nothing new — her creativity had dropped below zero.

In order to get your groove back and to reach a level 10 position — you must be willing to let go of what doesn’t work anymore. That can be certain clients, an old logo, tired and worn-out products and services, an out-of-date website (you’d be surprised how many businesses still have websites that are not mobile friendly!), and any other aspect of your business that does not promote an image of a dynamic, excellence-oriented, and modern company. It is very easy to lose market share by becoming complacent — this can even happen to large companies, but sometimes they are better positioned to regain what they lose due to their resources. Therefore, SME owners must continually look for creative ways to stay relevant in their respective markets. If you want to be in the top 10% of your industry — you must do and offer what the other 90% can’t or won’t!

Allow Yourself to Really Get Creative

In my opinion, the only way to really establish yourself as a thought leader in your sector, is to tap into your creativity, so you create new and futureproof services and products for your clients. To get fully into the zone of creativity I suggest the following:

1. Spend at least one day a week when you have no contact with work — I call these ‘Power Days’ and they are a way for you to free up your mind from everything that is business related. You cannot be creative if your mind is exhausted and worn-out.

2. Get out of your comfort zone and attend events not related to your sector — There is nothing more atrophying than attending the same old events year after year. Believe me when I say that there is usually nothing new — it’s same regurgitation of what they have said before. Go and attend events with people and businesses that you would normally never mix with. I guarantee you this will be a very invigorating experience and will give you a lot of new ideas and concepts to contemplate.

3. Read material on business trends in other fields — I assure you that many new ideas can come from this. Just like the events, if you are only reading up on trends in your sector, it is highly unlikely that ideas that are truly outside the box can break through.

4. Get used to keeping the company of people who are much more successful than you — I guarantee this will catapult you and your business to extraordinary heights of success! If you are part of a Mastermind Group, or another entrepreneur think tank group, and you are the smartest person in the room — get out! Simply put, to move beyond being evolutionary in business, so that you can become truly revolutionary, you need to surround yourself with individuals that are much smarter than you are.

Use Your Creativity to Achieve Amazing Results

Competition is real and it’s here to stay! Once you have defined what makes you unique in your market place through reawakening your creativity, you then need to focus and invest in getting exceptional results constantly for your clients, if you want to get repeat sales. Sure, every now and again, you’ll lose a client to a competitor due to pricing, but normally they’ll come back to you as cheap is not usually synonymous with quality. Claiming that you offer unrivalled quality service is nothing but hyperbole, if it’s not backed up with cold hard facts. Therefore, you need to be focused on getting excellent service evaluations, genuine testimonials (preferably on video), and clients that will give you a topnotch reference, if needed. If you want to outdo your competition — make sure that the results you get for your clients are unmatched by anyone in the market!

Creativity Pays Enormous Dividends

Let’s be honest, if you are selling exactly what your competitors are offering, count your blessings that you are still in business! I look at that generic market as a crowded swimming pool where it’s hard to move and it’s all mainly based on price — thus making it hard to have the margins you deserve and need.

I believe that as entrepreneurs, our new approach should be to swim in a pool on our own, or as part of a select few, who are constantly working on bringing new exclusive offers to the market.

To be part of this limited pool of business thought-leaders, may I invite you to consider the following:

1. Get Niche — Both in terms of who you service and in what products or services you sell. Look for underserviced markets.

2. Hire Carefully — just because someone is breathing does not make them a good hire! Don’t be lazy — take the time to get the best people possible.

3. Be a Disruptor — No one who has ever made their mark did so by playing safe. Don’t be afraid to break the mold and to shake up your sector.

Also, focus on the quality of your clients and not the quantity. One top tier client can bring you the profits of ten low-margin ones, but only if you are really solving your clients’ problems with innovative offerings.

If you feel that your energy and enthusiasm is being sapped from pitching the same old formulas that you’ve been selling for years, then I highly suggest that you take time to recreate, retune, and reposition yourself in the market place.

Allow your creativity to flow so that you become unrivaled in your sector — this is what will allow you to be able to choose the clients that you really want to work with. When you offer unparalleled solutions, you automatically catapult your standing in the market place and the fees you can ask for.

If you are looking for longevity in today’s business world — creativity really is the new safe!

If you require any case-specific assistance, please feel free to contact me www.damienofarrell.com

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