As a business owner, we want to be recognized by everyone from our colleagues, customers, and even our competitors. I WANT to make waves whenever I innovate and I usually make a big deal about it. This is how I get noticed and somewhat famous. Every industry seems to innovate and I often wonder:
Who thought of that idea and how did it spread?
The food industry seems to implement this the best. Who invented the popular Red Velvet cake? I don’t know and I personally do not care, but all I care about is the fact that I like red velvet cake. Even Duncan Hines created the blue velvet cake, but it does not seem to have caught on anywhere else. I am sorry for getting you hungry, but I often see the pizza industry as the biggest innovator. Who invented the salad slice, the buffalo chicken slice, the cheeseburger slice, the vodka slice, the Hawaiian slice, or the grandma slice? Now, every pizzeria offers those varieties. How did those slice ideas catch on? Those ideas had to originate in someone’s mind. That innovator did a great job of promoting them. I often wonder if all of the pizzeria owners subscribe to some pizza trade magazine and if there was a writer who promoted those slice ideas. It seems that even in the music and movie industries, we see new genres coming out all of the time and in most cases, there is always one person for each of those genres who becomes famous. Why not do it in YOUR field or industry?
When you have a new idea, promote it and YOURSELF like crazy!
In my own company, I have invented new products and services which prompted both colleagues and competitors to label me as crazy. Then, when I started making money with them, those same people also started offering them and often looked to me for advice. Make yourself famous. Promote your new ideas on social media, your blog, and on your mailing list. Offer them to your customers and generate some word-of-mouth advertising. Create a photo or logo to go along with your new idea in order to develop a brand around your new idea. I believe that if a new idea catches on, the person or company who thought of it should be just as popular and famous.
You fade into the background of your field or industry along with all of your competitors when you remain silent.
Imagine what it looks like to customers or clients when we are not famous for our own ideas. We just offer the same old products and services that our potential clients can purchase anywhere. We don’t stand out from the crowd. Our competitors offer all of the same products and services. When a specific competitor has innovated, however, that competitor has stood out and is now in a position to increase sales of all of their currently standard products and services. Even if you think a new idea will not sell, offer it anyway. Make people think you are different. Get their attention with curiosity. Raise their eyebrows. Even if that new idea may never sell, you may still get enough attention to sell your standard products and services.
One final word…
Let’s talk about bragging for a moment. I agree that in a social situation with your friends of family, nobody likes a bragger. However, in business, bragging can be the one behavior that makes you and your idea famous. Do you think your idea is better than your competitors? Let people know. As long as you get the results, bragging is a GOOD thing. People need to know that your idea has achieved results, because that helps you, your company, and that idea’s product/service sell even more.
