When Going Against the Crowd Pays off!!

More than ever, standing out from competitors is a top priority for business owners. The road to entrepreneurship is grueling, especially when your company becomes lost among other similar businesses. The entrepreneurs that do get noticed are the ones who dare to be different.

Each entrepreneur needs to find the path that’s right for them. David Garland, founder of The Rise To The Top podcasts, has interviewed hundreds of successful entrepreneurs. From his interviews, Garland concludes that, “there are many types of entrepreneurs.” Some types he mentions are the entrepreneurs who create a company only to sell it; the ones who build factories; the ones who thrive in a brick and mortar store; the ones who make their living through passive income.

Garland notes that he’s also come across several “unconventional entrepreneurs.” These businessmen and women do what they do because they love it, not just to make money. They find their success by trying new methods and going against the grain. They do things their own way, changing industries along the way.

Such entrepreneurs are what Garland describes as, “creative disrupters.” Whether you align more with traditional entrepreneurs or the unconventional, there are ways you can be a disrupter in your own industry and make a difference by being different.

The following are some starting suggestions for how to go against the crowd, with a few unconventional examples that prove how much being different in business can make a difference.

Getting the education some fail to learn

A formal education from an accredited university may be the starting point for your career; in today’s world a college degree is invaluable. But entrepreneurs who go against the crowd don’t stop or start learning in a college classroom alone.

Tai Lopez is a firm believer in self-education for successful entrepreneurs. An experienced investor and skilled financial advisor to multi-million dollar companies, Lopez has made a name for himself from his own unconventional education. It consisted of learning one-on-one with millionaire mentors and reading hundreds of books after Lopez’s grandfather gave him this advice: “The modern world is too complicated. You’ll never find all the answers from just one person.”

But he didn’t stop learning there. Lopez leads a popular book club for aspiring entrepreneurs while also offering services to help them find their own mentors best suited to their business path.

Of educating oneself, he says, “A lot of people blindly follow the masses and go to college because their friends are. They don’t know why they’re going. They have no direction.” On the other hand, Lopez says, “I took a different path of self-education. Even though I learned from others I was in control. I was able to pick and choose who taught me.”

Take control of your education and make a habit of continual learning from the experts in your field. The answers don’t come at once. They come over a lifetime. Your business and the skills you need to run it will excel when you pursue such an education.

Finding the places no one else wants to be

You may find there are many hidden opportunities for your business around you. The key is to never stop looking for the ones others are missing.

Serial entrepreneur, Com Mirza, learned this for himself when he saw an unnoticed potential for his business in unused billboards. He noticed that companies paid millions for billboard space, but some spaces were still not being rented out. For weeks, Mirza built up a relationship with a billboard company that would eventually lead to a killer deal: 10 cents on the dollar for unsold billboards.

By finding and investing in this resource other companies overlooked, Mirza’s business saw a “surge of traffic to our platforms [that] resulted in millions of dollars in new business.”

What resources and tools are your competitors failing to notice? Once you train your eye to find the potential where others are missing it, you’ll be a step above the crowd. It may involve some risks, but as Mirza points out, “taking the right risk pays off.”

Having the courage others are afraid to take

Business is not for the light in heart. It’s for the dreamers, the go-getters and those risk-takers Mirza made note of. No one makes it far in business without having courage in discouraging times and conquering fears to make something happen. Business owners refuse to sit on the fence, especially when opportunity awaits them.

Which risks you take is up to you, but don’t be afraid to take some that scare you. Craig Handley, CEO of ListenTrust, lives for those risks. He didn’t get to where he’s at today, co-founding and running a multimillion-dollar company, by playing it safe.

Years ago, when Handley was getting his start, he saw a chance to listen to Richard Branson at a marketing conference. But Handley didn’t just want to listen to Branson’s sage advice. He wanted to meet Branson and make an impression he wouldn’t forget. Handley’s gutsy goal landed him at the conference, dressed as a security guard. He approached Branson, “with $20 wrapped around my business card [and] shook his hand.” Handley told Branson, “This is the first $20 we’re going to make together.”

He sure made an impression. Handley’s fearlessness got a laugh out a Branson, plus Branson gave Handley his personal email. Since that incident, Handley has visited Branson on his personal island several times and gained an unbelievable network. Handley says, “Learning from this incredible network has helped my business and more importantly, created a meaningful life.”

When making a name for yourself and your business it pays to be different. To do what others refuse to try, and to take the chances that will be the difference for your company’s success.