How to build a business that has no competition

Competition used to scare me a lot. Never anyone in specific if I’m being honest, but the idea or concept of competition. You see, I used to worry that there were other designers out there that were probably a lot better than I was AND likely charging a lot less than I was too. It’s a feeling that’s not great; you know, thinking that you’re not enough. So I decided that if I was going to shake off that feeling, I would have to build a business that had no competition at all. How did I do it? This is what you need to know.

It all begins with a total and complete commitment to do the best work possible. It might sound obvious to you, but I assure you, it’s not. I mean, think about it, how many times have you worked on something half-heartedly? You know, not really putting your best into it?
I get that there are some projects that might inspire us more than others, but beyond that, working with total integrity means your best work ever every time you have a new client. This is a commitment I made to myself. Each project I do I try to improve or add something additional from the project I did before. Each new client I have will get something on their website that will get them closer to their goals. The reason for this is that every project is a learning process for me. I don’t believe I will ever be “done” learning. So, when I say it all starts with integrity, I mean making an intentional effort to be great at what I do. This is the first vital step moving forward.

Something that’s really important in building a business that has no competition is knowing the real reason why people hire you. It’s funny, I used to think that it might be because of my skill level, but the truth is, it’s not. There are tons of people out there that are a lot better at what I do. The reason people hire me is because of me. Heather Crabtree calls it “Understanding your authentic brand.” In other words. bringing out the most authentic version of yourself out there.
Let me explain. While I’m really good at designing logos and creating websites, I’m EXCELLENT at being me. No one can beat me there. My unique story of having lived all over the world, being married to a famous singer, having to relaunch my business and have it be super successful in under 6 months, being a mom to a 1 year old…these are all things that people connect to. Plus, if you add in there my personality and style, my essence as a person, well that makes me completely unique. This is the reason that people hire me. This is the reason why I don’t have competition. That’s the reason you won’t either.
The thing is, you have to figure out what it is about you that makes you unique. You have to know what part of your story is the one that people connect with most.
This is what’s called in business terms your Unique Selling Proposition. It’s unique because It belongs only to your business. It’s a selling proposition because it’s what convinces people to buy from you.
If you don’t know what your selling proposition is or how to define it best, you can download this free guide I created that will take you through the process. It will also help you in building the foundation of your brand:

In order to build a business that has no competition, it’s really important that you get super specific about who your audience is. Forget this idea that your audience is “anyone that needs my product.” I hear it all the time, and, honestly, it’s sort of a lazy answer. The more specific and detailed you get about who your target audience is, the more you can tailor your business and brand toward them.
You stop having competition the minute that you are inspiring and attracting your ideal client. You know, the person that will benefit the most from your services. You want to ask yourself:

This means the people you know you can make an impact on. The people whose lives you can positively change. You want to take into account all the things that have to be true about them so that it would be easy for them to hire you and be sort of a no-brainer decision.
That is who your target audience should be. When you are talking directly at these people, you make your competition irrelevant.

Of course, knowing who your target audience is is only the first part. The second part is understanding their problems and then offering solutions to them. One of the big realizations I have had in business is that people don’t really care about my qualifications. When someone is hiring me, it’s *almost* irrelevant that I have an MBA or that I have over 10 years of experience. What really really concerns people is whether I’m going to be able to solve their problems. In the end, people really really care only about themselves. They care that they have no direction for their brand. They care that their logo doesn’t build their credibility. They care that their website doesn’t attract customers. They care that they’re not making sales, hence money. They care that they aren’t finding being an entrepreneur as simple as they thought. They care that I can solve all of that for them.
Does that make sense? It’s not about whether you are good at what you do. It’s about whether they believe that you can solve their problems. So, it’s fundamental that your communication be centered around the results you can help others achieve.
In the free guide I created I’ll help you in determining who your ideal client is much better so that you can focus on the solutions you are bringing them. You can download It right here:

Another thing I have figured along the way in terms of building a business that has no competition, is that giving vale for free is probably one of the greatest marketing tools in the world. This notion basically is putting together all of the points I mentioned before. It’s about making an effort of doing your best work ever. It’s about bringing your personality and uniqueness to the table. It’s about knowing who your audience is and offering them free solutions. At the same time, you’re also showing you know what you’re talking about. Giving free content and value is incredible for getting people to really know you and like what you’re doing. It’s an essential part of the famous and well known idea that in order for people to buy from you, you have to get them to KNOW YOU, then LIKE YOU and, finally, TRUST YOU.
Giving free value is the first place in getting them to know a bit about who you are. Once they put to use the content you have given them, they start liking you for helping them. Finally, when they see results, they really start trusting you to be the person that can solve those problems we mentioned before. voilá. You have just made competition irrelevant once again.

I know we all have heard this concept of not judging a book by its cover. It’s a cute idea. But, unfortunately, that’s not really how it works in terms of business. As much as we hate to admit it, looks do matter. And no, I’m not saying that only business that look great on the outside are the ones that are worth it. That’s not the truth at all. Unfortunately, that is how people tend to judge things.
Basically what you want to ensure is that the outside of your brand is capable of matching its inside. You want your brand to look as incredible as the solutions that you are offering. Makes sense, right? As a brand designer, my online portfolio was pretty simple. Sure, I had incredible things I had done for clients. Work I’m super proud of. But, I was a bit lazy and didn’t have that work displayed on my website. Typical, right? Anyways, once I updated my portfolio people really started responding more. They could see the great work that I can do. It’s all about how you frame things and how you look. Having a great looking website made me look great. It also shows that if my website and logo and image in general look beautiful. you can bet that I can do the same for you. Makes sense, right?
Another thing in terms of making sure that your brand looks great is that it proves to people that you’re the real deal. That you care about your business enough to invest in it. And, if you’re investing in your business, you can bet that you are dedicated enough to do what’s best for your clients as well. So how do you know if your logo is great and makes you look good? You can read more about that right here. You can also download the free guide in which you will find some guidelines and color psychology to help you define whether your brand looks good.

So, there you have it. In order to build a business that has NO competition, where other people doing what you’re doing is completely irrelevant; focus on these things. Make sure you’re doing your best work ever every time, leverage your unique selling proposition, understand who your ideal audience is and speak directly at finding solutions and results for them, and finally, make sure your brand on the outside reflects who you are on the inside.