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Three years ago, I started a doc with a running list of ideas and a question at the top that I know a lot of you ask me:
This was at the top of my business idea doc - full circle moment
It’s crazy to look back, but the question I asked myself at the top of that doc is the thing I help others with right now!
One thing that got me really stuck was trying to pick the perfect idea that could combine everything (my skills & interests) into one idea.
As someone who loves interior design but also bringing people together but also had a decade of experience in product marketing in tech, it felt pretty much impossible.
I laid out my zones of excellence vs zones of genius
I would look around and make a list of what everyone else was doing, and it felt like the idea was already taken.
It also felt like there was no room to stand out.
But now, three years later, I know there is plenty of space for more coaches, consultants, strategists, event planners, fractional marketers, and whatever else you want to do.
And the key to that is three things (in my opinion).
Your story: No one else can replicate this and even if they have a similar story, it’s still never the same as yours.
Your unique POV: The opinions you carry about your industry and how your target audience / persona should behave.
Your angle: This should be something that provokes curiosity and feels like something you can own. It could be a framework, phrase, movement, etc.
Just do one of these things, and you’ll still stand out.
Combine all three, and you’ll be unstoppable.
Let’s go over each of these and how to do this for yourself.
Your story
I’ve told myself: there are a lot of coaches out there. And now, with portfolio careers rising in popularity, there are other coaches helping women build a portfolio career.
But if I take my story: adopted, grew up middle class, oldest of 4, neither parent went to a 4-year university, spent a decade in product marketing in tech, went through an IPO, left corporate, pivoted to event and retreat planning, AND traveling the world while doing it… I would guess there would just be myself.
Your lived experience is the golden ticket to magnetizing the right people and opportunities to you, BUT you have to be willing to talk about it.