Want to stand out and be different? Tell your stories

Today, I want to discuss the importance of sharing your beginnings—how it all started and why you do what you do. I know it may seem like a boring topic to discuss, mainly if your products/services are distributed across an oversaturated market. However, if you look at it from afar and dive deeper into your journey and process of becoming who you are today, you will see that everyone is different regardless of the products or services they produce.

Our journey shaped our beliefs and goals.
Our journey determines our uniqueness.
Our journey teaches us important life skills.
Therefore, this is how our brand is born.
Everyone is different.

Let me give you an example — There are two fruit sellers.
Let’s call the first fruit seller John and the second David.
At the end of the day, both John and David have their own businesses, which sell all kinds of fruits.
Now, let’s rewind and pay attention to their journey and process in the making.

John grew up on a farm, and he was taught how to grow his own fruits and vegetables from scratch. Every morning, he would wake up at 6 a.m. and begin his work. Later in the afternoon, he would gather all his products and deliver them to stores. Then, he would return home and make dinner for his family with his homegrown products.

David grew up in a business-orientated family, and from a young age, he was taught how to trade, buy, and sell products. He begins his day by engrossing himself in the latest tech trends and business channels. Being fairly well-versed in this world, he understands how to play around with his costs and profits. He would order the freshest fruits wholesale and outsource the packaging and delivery. This way, he can increase his revenue efficiently.

Summary — John grew up on the farm and fed his fruits; we can confidently assume that his products are fresher — quality over quantity. This may lead to John starting his own YouTube channel or social media pages, allowing him to share his knowledge with his audience, such as how to grow fresh fruits, what materials to use, weather conditions, detecting spoils, etc. Since he packs and delivers his products, there will be many more exciting topics to share with his audience. Cooking and prepping meals with his homegrown products might turn into recipe books and a series of cooking videos.

David is well-versed in today's business and tech world. With this knowledge on his side, we can confidently assume that he makes more money than John, and his brand might even reach out to different countries or franchisees. He might even have an app that will cater to the ordering, packaging, and delivering of fruits. Likewise, if he starts his own YouTube channel or social media pages, it will be as resourceful as John’s but directed towards a different audience.

Now, we can see how unique each brand is despite having the same services or products due to the individual journeys and challenges we’ve been put through. Sharing who you are and what your brand is about will be a good starting point for gathering a specific group of customers who support you.

I feel that being transparent is also a key factor here. For example, you might be reluctant to share the materials you use to package your fruit because the idea might get stolen or copied. You might be unwilling to share about the aftercare routine you showered your fruits with because someone might copied it too. Frankly speaking, I, too, was afraid to put my work out or share. What drove me to pluck up the courage and finally put myself out there is how much I can impact my audience and customers. A simple demonstration of how I take a photo might turn into questions and topics like —

”What tripod should I use?”
”Is that camera expensive? I only have an iPhone.”
”What software do you use to edit your photos?”

This will allow me to understand my customers and audience better.
This will allow me to create more relatable content for my customers and audience by narrowing it down.
This will allow me to learn and branch out my skillsets.

Everyone is unique.
The journey that we hustle through life is different.

Please don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and speak your mind.
You might help someone out unknowingly.
You might brighten up someone’s day, unknowingly.