Is Genericide Killing Your Business Brand?

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Perhaps you’ve had this experience. You’ve held back instead of speaking up, or you’ve dismissed a nagging idea before pursuing it. Then you kicked yourself when you later watched someone else successfully pull it off.

Or perhaps you’ve started out strong and full of conviction, but let your fears get the better of you. You’ve diluted what you started with so much that you can’t even recognize it. You qualify your actions, speak in generalities so as to have a wider appeal, and avoid taking a definite position in fear of alienating someone.

Whether it’s in writing, in person, in small ways or big, we all do this from time to time. This holds us back from being clear in what we want, and therefore stops us from attracting it.

In business, it’s deadly! This silent killer is called Genericide. It is a crime committed against yourself, and it’s when you become so vanilla, that you have no flavor at all!

When you are a victim of Genericide, you:

• Don’t have a clear solution to an equally clear problem.
• Don’t have a single thing you are (or intend to be) known for.
• Don’t have a special something to stand out from the sea of vanilla.

Remember, business is a dish best served hot and spicy! If you don’t stand for something, as the saying goes, you’ll stand for nothing.

Here are 10 ways to prevent Genericide in your business:

1. Imagine your ideal customer as a real person and not an ethereal wisp you can’t seem to grasp. Your aim is to get to know this person inside and out!
2. Pay attention to how you feel. When you’re in the right “zone” you’ll feel it. Similarly, when you’re not being and doing what you are meant, you can feel that too.
3. Ask customers or trusted colleagues what they value about you. Now amp it up and make sure you’re delivering it and more!
4. Pinpoint what makes you different and celebrate it.
5. Build a soapbox and take a stand on it!
6. Put yourself out on a limb. Take steps that stretch you personally.
7. Meet and mingle with other business owners you consider “ahead” of you.
8. Set aggressive goals in your business. Make it a game – add zeros to your revenue targets. Then figure out what it would take to get there (make sure to check your doubts at the door).
9. Put more of you and less “them” into your business brand.
10. Stop comparing. Repeat. Stop comparing. And resist the urge to do what everyone else is doing, just because they are.

The more you find your voice, the more you’ll truly shine. This is where the magic happens!

Want to use this article? You can as long as you include this footer: Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success System^TM for ex-corporate employees and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break free from the confines of their corporate experience and  live outside of the ordinary. The Corporate Fugitive system demystifies the business of setting up, managing, marketing and growing a successful and extraordinary business. Visit www.corporatefugitive.com for information and step-by-step resources to take you from overwhelmed employee to extraordinary entrepreneur.