Entrepreneurs
5 Simple But Overlooked Ways to Stand Out From Your Competition
You’re an entrepreneur. You’re working on your side-hustle aspiring to be one soon. You’re a dream chaser who thrives on freedom. But what makes you different from the thousands of other entrepreneurs launching their businesses with a laptop and an internet connection?
While the title and the aspirations behind wanting to be an entrepreneur may be the same, no two entrepreneurs are equal. How do you separate yourself from the pack? How do you become a smart entrepreneur in today’s crowded marketplace?
Here are 5 ways to be a stand out entrepreneur:
1. Don’t be the hero of your story
You’re crazy about your product or service. It may be ‘one-of-a-kind’ and get your customer from A to Z in half the time. As fabulous as it is, stop tooting your own horn. Don’t play the hero who’s waiting to swoop in to rescue your customer.
Donald Miller, Founder of Story Brand says ,“Your brand is not the hero of the story, your customer is. When your brand stops playing the hero and starts playing the role of the guide in your customer’s story, you’ll see dramatic results.”
Articulate the value of your brand and products by keeping your customer or client at the center of it. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Why does the customer need your product? Reflect the customer’s challenges or desires back to him.
- How will it work? Describe the change the product will create. Every product or service has to create a change in your customer. E.g. From scared and intimidated to confident and in control. From overwhelmed and desperate to relaxed and stress-free
- What exactly does your product or service do? Finish with the facts. This is where you bring your customer full-circle and let them know about the benefits and features of your product.
This is a simple formula you can use for your product descriptions and sales and landing pages.
“Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” – Jeff Bezos
2. Be an entrepreneur who makes money in their sleep
Those were the words of Richard Branson. Because that’s the dream right? To live the laptop lifestyle. To post pictures from Krabi or Phuket. To work in your pyjamas and bunny slippers from home.
But in reality, most entrepreneurs are freelancers or one-person run companies. They think that working for themselves means being an entrepreneur. They trade time for money.
But this is a model that won’t sustain itself over the long run. If you cut down your hours, you cut down your revenue. If you have sick days, your work suffers.
Your business depends on you for its survival. There’s no denying that most entrepreneurs start off with this model. It’s a necessity when you’re still trying to find your footing.
But smart entrepreneurs don’t get stuck in the ‘time for money’ wheel of trade. They have a vision of how to break out of the cycle and make plans to scale. Their vision for their business is bigger than them.
3. Determine how much energy you have
We live in a society where asking for help is a sign of weakness and being busy and doing everything yourself is a status symbol. You’re no less of an entrepreneur by getting help. There is no shame in outsourcing elements of your business.
You don’t have to keep ‘crushing it’. Ask yourself:How much time and energy do you really have? And what do you want to do in those hours?
When you know the size of your energy basket and the size of your tasks, you find that it’s easier to choose what to do and what not to do. You become aware that saying yes to one task means saying no to something else.
Have a clear picture of tasks that grow your business and tasks that maintain your business. Once you get clear on these, determine what your major time drains are.
These are most likely business maintenance tasks like bookkeeping or website fixes. See if you can outsource these so that you have time to work on tasks that grow your business. Smart entrepreneurs are aware of their limits. They know when to step back and get help.
4. Focus on being different, not better than your competitors
Be different because you’ll never be better. Once you start to compete on ‘better’, you’ll have to add features and benefits to stay in the race. When everyone starts to compete on these, it boils down to who can offer the cheapest price.
The marketplace is flooded with similar products. Just have a look at the number of courses helping you build a profitable blog.
Start analyzing your competitors and gaps in the marketplace and try to find a way to be different. Smart entrepreneurs know how to position themselves in an already crowded marketplace.
“It takes nothing to join the crowd. It takes everything to stand alone.” – Hans Hansen
5. Sell promises
Your brand is not so much what you say it is, as what your customer says it is. What story do they tell themselves by consuming your products and services?
It’s the perception of your brand in their mind that makes them listen to you or buy from you.
People like to buy, but they don’t like to be sold to. And when they do buy, they buy because of the identity your brand gives them. The promise your brand offer gives.
Brand story strategist Bernadette Jiwa says “Because people don’t want to ‘do’ they want to ‘be’. They want to be less busy and more productive, less alone and more connected, less fearful and feel more safe.” Smart entrepreneurs sell promises rather than features and benefits.
Let these points guide you in your business. Align yourself with the true definition of who an entrepreneur is. Because once you do that, you’ll be unstoppable. You’ll be a stand-out entrepreneur.
What do you currently do to stand out from businesses in your industry? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below!
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Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”
While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.
Why This Gap Exists
Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.
What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.
Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap
Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.
1. Practice Mutual Empathy
Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.
2. Maintain Professional Boundaries
Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.
3. Follow the Golden Rule
Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.
4. Avoid Micromanagement
Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.
5. Empower Employees to Grow
Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.
6. Communicate in All Directions
Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.
7. Overcome Insecurities
Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.
8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship
True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.
9. Eliminate Favoritism
Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.
10. Recognize Efforts Promptly
Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.
11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews
When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.
12. Provide Leadership Development
Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.
13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles
Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.
The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role
Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:
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Build diverse talent pipelines
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Embrace flexible work models
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Design compelling career paths
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Simplify HR processes
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Redefine the value HR brings
The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.
Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff
When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.
Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.
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