That term, “Unique Selling Proposition,” popped up early on learning about marketing and I struggled to figure out how I was unique. It is a jargon-like phrase and I don’t like it.

Here is a simpler way to understand what it means.  In a way, your USP is your businesses footprint. It is what and how you offer whatever it is you offer, in a way that your niche market’s antennae  perk up and  they pick you, because you are offering exactly and precisely what they need.

Your footprint is unique to you. When you walk on the wet sand on the beach, no one else’s  footprint will look exactly the same as yours. Your niche market will be attracted to your footprint because it is emanating this uniqueness and it speaks directly to their need.

If you want to stand out and be recognized by your potential  clients make sure you make your footprint sharp and clear!  Your message needs to be about your niche clients and what they need. Your specialty  is in helping them and how you do that is your unique way.

The best way to figure this out is to ask some of your happy niche clients, how you were unique in helping them. Listen to their words and you will have an aha moment.

Follow this template below and fill in the blanks for your business then feel free to share it below in the comments. Here is mine as an example:

1. Who is your niche: Solo serviced based business owners.

2. What is their emotionally compelling problem:
Overwhelmed and struggling to turn their service into a prosperous business.

3. What is your USP ( footprint) :
Clear Your Focus Grow Your Business

These three things above make up your core marketing message.

Most solo business owners are “Do it yourself-ers,”  and become highly skilled at juggling, working long hours and avoiding paying for anything they feel they can manage themselves. If this sounds like you, read on!

If you are one of those people who started your business literally from the ground up, beginning with no clients and no money, you had to do it all yourself. If you followed good advice, created a marketing plan and good organizational systems, eventually your business has grown and now you are just too busy to stay on top of everything.

Stuff begins to fall through the cracks, your blog posts aren’t getting written as often, your desk is piled with papers, you have new ideas you have no time to develop.

You might begin to realize you need to get help.You have likely had contract employees for certain tasks like web development, editing or graphics but what you need now is someone to help you grow your business.

The problem is you are good at your craft or practice, but don’t have a clue about how to hire someone or manage them. Maybe you even tried it once and it was a disaster so now you are cautious.  Here are a few things to help you to make a shift from being a solo-business owner to being an employer of a small business.

1. Look at all the parts of your business and begin making a comprehensive list of every job and task that you do. You can use my Whole Business Circle to help you divide your business into eight pie pieces. Although some areas will overlap, this will help you to cover each area without being overwhelmed!

2. Make a list of every job you have not been doing because you haven’t had the time. If you are like most people, you are doing the jobs that seem urgent, have direct financial gain and/or are fun.  Once you have your list, rate each one by how important it is to long term growth. It is actually those jobs that are not urgent, but might be important to long term growth, that need to be addressed.

3. Create a short list of jobs you would like to have someone else do. Notice if they seem to fall into categories and skill sets. How much training would be required to teach someone how to do these jobs? Do you have step-by-step systems in place to make the transition easier?  Developing systems with clear steps and focus will make it easier for you to be a manager and will help your employee feel confident and supported as well.

4. What kind of person do you want?  My business consultant friend said that the difficulty is that most people want to hire very smart, sharp people who can work well on their own, be creative, stay and become more involved with the business, however to begin with, they might be doing boring, less interesting jobs. You need to be clear of your intention and the “why” behind it. It requires thinking long term as it can be a very time consuming task to train a person and then do it again and again.

5. Employee via virtual assistant. The advantage of the VA is that they are generally paid by the job and not on salary. You only hire them when needed, however once they learn the task, they can do it over and over.  The advantage of an employee is that this person becomes part of your business, is not working for many other businesses and has the potential to become invested and can grow with your company. They make a time commitment to  you and you are managing them. A VA is running their own  business and they set their own hours.  Once you look at your job list and think about what is important, it will be easier to decide what’s right for you.

In order to move from being an overworked solo-business owner to growing a stronger sustainable business, you have to let go of doing it all yourself. If you keep trying to do it all yourself, your business will stay small.

Many solo serviced based business owners struggle with the whole issue of pricing.  Am I charging too much, too little?  How to get people to buy seems all mixed up with people’s self worth, self doubt and unresolved money issues.  Some common pitfalls include:

• Looking at what other business owners are charging for a similar service, and then end up comparing yourself to them and feel bad and confused because you are not them and your business is not exactly the same.

• Being desperate to bring in cash right away in any amount,. Money stress will cause you to  feel poor and constricted, which turns into a downward spiral.  You become lost in your own feelings of failure which make it hard to make good money or business decisions.

•  Choosing a ‘stab in the dark’ price based on what you feel ok with and what you think people will pay.  Since your self-doubt is high, you end up picking a low price thinking you are not good enough to charge more. The truth is, if you truly feel you are not good enough at what you do, why would anyone pay you anything?

Solutions:

1. Focus on helping your niche clients and giving them value.

2. Don’t charge by the hour because your price includes your whole business with all the systems, development, office, marketing etc.

3. Be an excellent money manager and learn to manage well what you have. This will lower your anxiety.

4. Make a business plan that reflects your financial goals and then figure out the income streams and where the money will come from.Use the Money Map and sales funnel to figure this out.

5. Give high vale and bonuses but avoid discounts because it makes you look desperate and it will confuse your customers. People buy services for value first, price second.

If you do all these things your self-doubt will decrease and your confidence will increase.

Are you ready to turn on your faucet and see a gushing stream come
out?  If, in fact, you are only getting a small dribble, then this
article is definitely for you!

Are you working hard and putting in long hours to just have a tiny
trickle.  That’s not fun and it just shouldn’t be that way.

Just by making a small, but significant shift in your niche focus,
your business will change and transform overnight.

It’s all about developing many ways to directly fulfill the needs
and wants of a specific and narrow group.

I  have strategically followed this process and I had the best year
ever last year, in spite of the economy!  This really works.

Especially in a service based business, your niche is not your
product. It is all about the specific group of people you are
marketing to.

This is not complicated, but fears and confusion tend to make it
seem that way. Many of my clients are afraid that if they narrow
their niche they will have even a smaller steam of clients. It can
feel scary when you need more money.

•  Overcome your fear and admit that you need help.
•   Acknowledge that the marketing plan you have now isn’t working.
•   Let go of self-doubt and decide to stretch and grow bigger. It
always begins here!

You need to make sure  you have picked the correct niche and then
develop the correct plan and strategy that will make your business
grow.

Maybe you think you know exactly who your niche group is and yet you are still struggling to get your business to bring in the cash you need!

If you have managed to know clearly who your niche is you are miles ahead of most small solo business owners who are confused and unclear.

Here is an easy 3-part assessment to help you evaluate whether your niche is a strong one or not.  Look at all three of these points and see if you get a “yes.”

1. They have a strong emotionally compelling problem or issue they need help with.

2. They want the positive results that will either make them feel much better or solve a big problem.

3. They are willing to pay for the benefits they will receive because they see the value to their life, business and/or happiness.

Your entire marketing plan needs to be built around one small, but strong group of people. Every decision and every strategy needs to have these people as it’s focus.  It needs to be a narrow group of people that pass the Niche Assessment with flying colors.

To grow a stronger business and make more money it’s not about marketing to a million different kinds of people. It is about marketing to one narrow strong group and offering a million different ways they can work with you.

Get your free 30 minute session with me to evaluate your niche. it could change your whole business  overnight!!