How to create a business which can take on big competitors

Clearly a question too big for anyone to address in one article. However, having had the opportunity to interview several organizations who managed to take on a and overtake some large brands, I feel confident that the three points below represent some of the most important steps toward that goal.

The WHY, the WHAT, the PEOPLE.

The WHY

In 2017, I decided to open a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) academy.

My ambition was to build an academy that enabled people to do things they thought they couldn’t. I feel BJJ is the most effective and interesting form of martial arts. I wanted to train in it and I wanted my children to train in it.

The WHY was bigger than me, it was worth persevering for. When the electrician sent me a quote that was five times higher than expected because he found unexpected problems, it was easy to say “go ahead”. When the structural engineers took longer than planned to visit the site, it was easy to find the time to chase them.

At Genie Goals, our retail-specialist digital agency, our WHYs are:

1. To revolutionise the digital marketing industry.
2. To create the best possible environment to work in. We want to surround ourselves with people we admire, who inspire us and who we like spending time with.

These are way bigger WHYs than making a profit. Profit is important, it enables businesses to do the good things they do, but it can’t be your main WHY.

Building something remarkable isn’t easy; you will find challenges and obstacles that will set you back and make you wonder what you’re doing all of that for. That’s when you need a strong and powerful WHY. People who win are those who don’t quit, those who keep going when the going gets tough. And the only force that can keep us going when the going gets really tough is having strong WHYs.

The WHAT

The big WHAT is a laser-focused spotlight on what you want to be known for. The features and the other services you offer come later. The WHAT is the thing that makes you remarkably different, the thing people will remember you for. It’s the difference between saying: “we do digital marketing” and “we exponentially grow performance through digital marketing for clients in travel and finance”.

It comes down to a few key questions:

1. What’s the proposition? What do you do?
2. What’s different?
3. What’s remarkable?
4. What problem do you solve?

If you cannot explain these succinctly and easily in less than one minute, then you’ve got more work to do.

The PEOPLE

With the right people, you’ll go through hell and come out stronger. The wrong people will drive you to jump off the walls of heaven.

Outside of specific roles you might be recruiting for, what traits must people exhibit to fit in with your organisation?

At Genie Goals, we talk about exhibiting Genie Behaviours: a list of attributes that help indicate whether a person might fit in well in our company. These are:

Smart: Do they get things? When you ask them questions, do they understand the questions and provide to-the-point, relevant answers?

Get things done: We like people who do what they say they’re going to do. Talk is cheap and you’ll find loads of talkers.

Eager to learn: Irrespective of seniority! You need people who are going to learn, adapt and grow with the organisation.

Positive: Surround yourself with positive people. Trust me, if you have people around you who just focus on, and talk about the problems and the stuff that isn’t perfect, you are injecting poison into your organisation and your life!

Not assholes: One of the traits that has been pivotal to the growth of the company has been the readiness of all staff to learn from all staff and treat everyone as equals rather than according to their job titles. No one is too senior to fill the dishwasher or make the coffee.

There’s more, of course, but nail these three points and you’re well on your way to take on and perhaps overtake the big guys.

Good luck.

By Luca Senatore who is the author of new book The Agency and the director at multi-award-winning digital agency Genie Goals.

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