The Problem:
Your business could be the best thing since sliced bread, but if no one listens to you, no one will ever know about it.
The Business
This isn’t a business idea in the classic since of Estimated Future business ideas. But this idea is so important, I post it anyway. This is vital! In this day and age, if you are trying to get something started – a new product or a new service – you’ve got to have a voice.
A voice doesn’t have to be loud. You don’t need a megaphone. Maybe all you need is to whisper it to one person. If that one person has a quarter of a million twitter followers or a widely watched television show, the whisper might be all you need. The point is, without the ability to spread a message, your product or service will have problems succeeding.
Doableness
That all depends. How do you make it happen? Before you even decide what product or service to bring to market, figure out three things. One, what advantage do you have? Two, what groups will the product or service benefit the most and where do those tribes hang out? Third, what will make someone in that tribe tell someone else in that tribe?
My Thoughts
I heard Rick Dempsey on the radio today talking about his ties. (If you don’t know, Dempsey is a former Oriole and current O’s broadcaster.) I caught myself thinking, “I wonder what could possibly be different about Rick Dempsey’s ties.” I looked at the website. They are nice ties. They benefit charity in some way. But they are ties. Just ties.
But they will sell, because Dempsey has a voice. In my opinion, the ties aren’t special. The voice is special.
Can a special product or service make up for a lack of a voice? Yes, it becomes the voice. But you sure need one or the other.