I’m also on Medium - check that out if you prefer 🙂 also free for you!

This one is about the common misconception that you need a USP and a unique idea to succeed. If that doesn't interest you, I'll see you next week - there, just saved you 5 minutes.

For years, I was convinced that if I could just find that one-of-a-kind idea, I'd be set. After 7 years of searching for the great idea, nearly 10 failed businesses, and 2 that actually made some money, I can tell you I was dead wrong.

Here's the truth: Your business doesn't need to be unique. It just needs to be clear about the problem it solves. In fact, I think it's better that your idea isn't unique when you start.

Most successful businesses aren't reinventing the wheel. They're just good at explaining which wheel they're selling and why you need it.

When I started my college consulting business, I wasn't doing anything groundbreaking. College consulting is a multi-billion dollar industry. I just had to do what everyone else was doing.

Clarity Trumps Uniqueness Every Time

Your potential customers don't care if you're one-of-a-kind. They care if you can solve their problem.

In my college consulting business, I made it crystal clear: "I help students leverage their startup experience to stand out in college applications." This made everything so much simpler. If people didn't have startup experience, I didn't work with them. If they did - guess what? They were more likely to work with me.

Focus on solving one problem for one specific type of person. By narrowing my focus to students with startup ambitions, I became the go-to expert for a specific group.

Your job as a founder isn't to be perfect. It's to make things "less wrong, more quickly." Launch your idea, get feedback, and iterate.

Think of your business idea as a hypothesis:

1. Start with a clear proposition.

2. Put it in front of potential customers.

3. Observe their reactions.

4. Analyze the feedback.

5. Refine your proposition.

6. Repeat.

Failure Is Part of the Process

Every "no" you hear, every idea that flops, is valuable data. Each failure taught me something crucial about what customers want and how to communicate value effectively.

Business success isn't about having a unique idea. It's about clearly communicating value to a specific group of people and continuously improving your solution based on feedback.

WordRobin Update (Sneak Peak)

Speaking of specific USPs, I’ve had an update to mine.

WordRobin helps founders and solopreneurs establish themselves as thought leaders.

There are some exciting changes in the works in-line with this.

Interviews, Dashboards, Overhaul!

Do you like talking? Me too - in fact, I prefer it to writing.

I’ve been building in dynamic interviews to help you go from idea to finished post in one sitting. It’s so close - I just need to make it integrate with our existing architecture.

I’ve also overhauled the dashboard to make it simpler to do stuff:

Along with an update to the onboarding flow.

We’re getting there!

What’s next?

I’ll be pushing out the changes and shift in direction for Wordrobin in the next week 🙂 

This is exciting!

with love, Ben

Enjoying the newsletter? Please forward to a pal. It only takes 18 seconds. Making this one took 1.5 hours

New round here? Join the newsletter (it's free).