When I was in commercial real estate back in the 90’s, there was a very successful team in one of the biggest cities in the country.
It was headed up by a guy who I heard was a dictator.
It was known for a few things.
#1 was making a lot of money since they did a LOT of real estate transactions
And #2 was how different they worked and what they did differently…
- Everyone wore white shirts
- Everyone adhered to a very process driven culture
- Everyone worked hard and long hours… they always seemed busy
Everytime I think about this team, I think about Gordon Gekko from the famous movie Wall Street…
Gordon Gekko
This team was focused!
Driven!
And very effective!
I remember so clearly someone touring me through the office who said that one of the things they did at the start of every day was check their own fax machines and laser printers for paper and make sure they were topped off.
Every day.
Checking the printers… seriously.
They had a checklist with all sorts of things like that on it.
And, they all looked like a little army of white shirted minions.
The OTHER thing I remember…
Is that everyone else in the office thought they were a bit weird.
And a bit like the military.
But they were also extremely successful because they didn’t care what anyone else thought.
And they were the undisputed champions of the office.
I’ve found this lesson has served me well.
If everyone in your industry is doing something a certain way, then it most certainly is the way to mediocrity.
Want to make an average wage?
They do what the average do!
What to be extraordinarily successful?
Then do what most don’t do.
And do what most won’t do.
For example, there are 78,379 businesses in San Diego county.
That means about 78,000 entrepreneurs.
Take a hard look at your industry.
What is ‘everyone’ doing today?
And then ask yourself…
How can you be different, better, and perhaps controversial in your marketing and your business?
It works.
And it’s always something I think about every time I put on a white shirt 🙂
Yours in Success,
Henry Evans
Timezone Marketing
Author, The Hour A Day Entrepreneur