In today’s competitive environment it’s more important than ever to have a competitive advantage – something that puts you above the general fray of your industry.

Maybe you have a unique technology advantage…a patented something or other that no one else has.

Maybe you were first in your space and really own the marketplace (95 of the top 100 companies use our service…).

Maybe you’re faster, better a different business model – there can be lots of ways to build a competitive advantage.

However if you’re stuck on what yours might be, you should look at your core values and your vision as a possible way to stand out and make yourself different from the crowd.

Do you have customers that buy from you because of what you stand for?  Great employees that do more than you expect because they believe in the bigger picture of where you’re taking the business?

I’ve written before about how to find your core values, but even more importantly you can actively use those core values as a differentiator…a competitive advantage.

(photo by Zach Dischner)

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     photo by I’m Fantastic – quote from Conan the Barbarian

Crushing your enemies might be a bit strong, maybe you don’t think about your business ‘Dominating’ in your industry – but you should be thinking about how you will be the premier provider of whatever it is that you do.  If you’re thinking more along the lines of ‘I’d like to be an average provider in my industry and have moderate success along the way’ – I would suggest that you’re going to struggle with your business.

It doesn’t have to be ‘Go Big or Go Home’ – great doesn’t equal big, but if you’re not aspiring to greatness, to dominating your little corner of the market, then I’d like to politely ask:  “What are you doing?”

Most likely you’re shooting for a successful business…

“A successful business…works predictably, effortlessly and profitably each and every day..… [without a supreme sacrifice by an owner/manager]”

– Michael Gerber, the E-Myth Revisited

That’s the kind of success (and domination) that Business Development can deliver.  Of course, the first question might be…what is business development?

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photo by pshutterbug

Are you building your business on a shaky foundation?  When times are good, you can grow revenues and profits, even without a solid core for your business…however when times are tough (like the last couple of years), an unstable business is one that’s not going to last.

What makes for a solid and stable business?  Clearly you have to have a viable business model – the days of being able to ‘make it up in volume’ are long gone.  Can you make legitimate profit from what you’re doing or selling?

You have to have the right people in the right places – especially in a small business, there’s little room for error and any one person can have a huge impact (good or bad) on the outcome of your business.

Finally – a big part of your long term stability comes from your core values, your operating principles, the unique stamp that drives why and how you do business.

What does that mean?  Let’s look at an example:

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A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the danger of chasing rainbows and the importance of recognizing that your business is a tool to help you get what you want out of life.

I have a couple of different clients that are working on what they really want out of life, who they are, what their core values are.  It can be a very difficult exercise to work through.  However I think the payoff for uncovering your core values and your mission  – all of that hard work is huge!

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