On my latest visit to my favorite retreat center, I took notice of the array of business cards on the table inside. Like other retreat centers, this one is a gathering place for people wanting to relax and rejuvenate. On the table were spread out a whole display of business cards, almost all of them from people in the same industry: massage therapy.
At least that’s what all the cards said. Massage therapy.
It was virtually impossible to tell anything about the individuals whose cards were spread out on the table. Very few of them had photographs (always have a photo on your business card!). And the cards said almost nothing distinctive so that a viewer might know what to choose one vs. another.
None of them stood out.
There’s another retreat center that I visit (a much bigger one) where they have a number of massage therapists working at any one time. Each one who is working has a flyer posted so that patrons can choose who they want to hire for a session. Most of them have photos, so you can get a little bit of a sense of them from that. They often list the different types of body work offered: Esalen, Swedish, deep tissue, Reiki, Shiatsu. But very little about the person, or what specifically this person could help you with (other than relax and reduce stress).
Very few of them stand out in this massage mall. And this is far too common.
Instead of standing out, you fade into a sea of business cards, or faces with serene looks, or listings of types of body work (or coaching or counseling or teaching . . .).
Because most practitioners in the healing arts identify as just that–a practitioner in the healing arts. They present their modality and their training in their promotional material, rather than anything specific about themselves, what makes them different, and why you would want to pick them out of the crowd.
That’s what “The Flavor of You” is all about. Knowing so clearly who you are and what you’re offering that it oozes out from the words you use, your essence shines from your photographs, and everything you present speaks loudly of who you are.
Now this is one part of the equation because there’s also the matter of what can you do for your people, what do you specialize in, and what outcomes or results can people expect from working with you? That has to do with who your people are–focusing in on a specific type of person so that you actually come into focus for them (but that’s for another article).
Right now I’m focusing on YOU and the importance of you standing out from the crowd. Because if you don’t, it’s extremely difficult to build a successful business. There are simply too many other people in your same industry doing work similar to yours–or at least that’s what it seems like from the way you present yourself.
What can you do about that? You can discover what is different about you and emphasize it! Because the truth is, there is only one of you ever–you are unique. And you have a specific combination of gifts, talents, skills and life experience that, when fully acknowledged and appreciated, become the basis of you being an expert in your OWN field. That’s right. You define the field in which you are working and you stand out like never before. That’s the magic of “The Flavor of You.”