“There are a million consultants/podcast hosts/coaches/authors/coffee shop owners/(insert your own profession) out there. How in the world can I stand out and share what is special about working with me?”
“How can I come up with a new model when just about every model has already been created?”
“Does the world really need another podcast?”
I have had some version of these questions from clients just about every day of my business life.
They are the right questions to ask.
If you want to have a successful, differentiated business, you need to build something that truly solves the problems of/helps achieve the aspirations of your ideal clients.
This does NOT mean that you have to create your entire body of work from scratch.
I often laugh at how many reworked versions I have seen over the years of Jim Collins’ Hedgehog Concept from Good to Great.
Changing a word or two (“What are you deeply excited about?” “What drives your money engine?” “What can you be the world’s best at?”), folks try to claim this entire concept as new.
The key to helpful and effective work is to examine functional and effective models and ask the following questions:
What is missing from my field of practice?
What is missing from books on the subject of (insert your subject)?
What is missing from events in this (insert topic) space?
When I was writing Escape from Cubicle Nation, I realized that while thousands of authors had written books about the steps to open a business, none directly addressed the emotional and practical issues for people transitioning into entrepreneurship from a corporate career.
When Mike Michalowicz wanted to write a book about improving cash flow and financial stability for small business owners, he noticed that most focused on profit last. What was missing was the focus on Profit First, and the financial well-being of the entrepreneur, not just the business.
In the field of learning and development, today’s trend toward microlearning has its roots in research from the 1800s.
“In the mid-1880s, Hermann Ebbinghaus’ became the first person to create a scientific approach to study and classify memory and introduce the world to concepts like the learning curve and forgetting curve. This early research led to the concept of microlearning …
As the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve demonstrates, people typically lose 80% of the knowledge they learn within a month.
When people learn large amounts of information, they do retain it for a certain amount of time. However, if that information isn’t considered ‘crucial’ to the tasks at hand, the knowledge tends to degrade over time.
The microlearning concept can be used to tackle this issue. Splitting the content into small pieces and recalling different parts of it over time can help improve knowledge retention and productivity.”
Still in 2024, I would be hard pressed to find someone who says “Jeez, I wish I could spend MORE hours of my day away from my to do list so I can learn facts that I will likely forget by next week.”
Answer your own What’s Missing?
To begin to answer your own “What’s Missing?” question in your body of work, here is a sentence structure to get your thinking going:
“Most practitioners in my field do a great job with (this thing). What’s missing is …”
Remember that “what’s missing” needs to be directly tied to something that would be extremely valuable for your ideal audience.
Examples:
“Most conferences do a great job of finding great speakers and choosing topics that are very relevant to the audience. What’s missing is more space in the schedule so that introverts have a time to reflect, process and re-charge their batteries in peaceful and calm room designed for this purpose.
“Most team building firms have good design of their meetings or offsites. What’s missing is an extremely deliberate focus on senior leadership participation, so that their sponsorship is clear and noticeable.”
“Most coaching programs do a great job teaching the basics of thought work. What’s missing is an intersectional analysis about how people from different identities are impacted by socialization.”
“Most travel companies do a great job at organizing air fare, hotels and excursions. What’s missing is a truly local travel experience, with visits to hidden gems away from the crush of crowds at the tourist attractions.”
“Most hair salons do a great job at haircuts and highlighting. What’s missing is specialization for people who want bright, bold colors and edgy cuts.”
“Most coaches have solid training to help you examine and shift your thoughts so you feel more empowered. But few have worked in the medical field and know the unique pressures faced by medical professionals.”
When you get some clarity about how you stand apart from your competitors by answering “What’s Missing?,” make sure that is posted all over your marketing materials.
Your “What’s Missing” is what will make your ideal client say “I am so glad I chose to work with you! You “get me” more than anyone else I have ever worked with.”
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