Entrepreneuers Share What Makes Their Business Unique – August 11th

11 years ago

In the current generation of business being unique is a top priority to getting noticed. Each day some new story comes out about some creative marketing plan that takes the cake and drives huge traffic to a business. The Taco Liberty Bell April Fool’s joke or Verizon’s real life ‘Can You Hear Me Now?’ promo can only be described as unique. If a business is to survive and thrive making an effort to be unique is a must. Whether you pull of unique marketing stunts, have products which need no introduction or style yourself as an innovative CEO, having a defining quality is what customers will notice.

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Historical presentations

Well, my wife and I have researched, written, and created presentations on the lives of 33 American Presidents and Their Wives. Although there are others who do portrayals of a few historical characters, but as far as we know, no one has EVER done such an accomplishment. For 17 years it has been our only source of income as we would do over 300 performances at locations in 35 states of the US. Our clientele are the large independent retirement communities, libraries, Presidential sites and organizations. Now we are ready to accomplish another first – we are going to present all 33 of our shows in 5 days – 68 historical characters will come to life telling their life stories and almost 250 years of American history. We will spend over 25 hours on stage and all the profits will be donated to The Wounded Warrior Project.

Thanks to William and Sue Wills, Presidents and Their First Ladies

A unique product

I love my business SwingBagz because our unique cell phone purses is designed so that women never ever have to worry about losing, leaving, searching or missing an important call. Our unique product will help women avoid theft of their cell phone which helps to save money on the high cost of replacement cell phones. Each cell phone purse is designed with a Bluetooth holder on both sides of the adjustable strap to accommodate a left or right handed person. The Bluetooth holder will also hold eyeglasses or sunglasses, so no need to search or lose them as well.

Thanks to Carleen Swingler, SwingBagz

Related Post: Why Buying Local is Worth Every Cent

Filling an unmet need

We started ThirdParent to satisfy a specific, unmet need in the marketplace and provide a valuable resource for parents and schools. We, the three founders, are internet marketing professionals and parents of teens, and have been following the shocking rise of negative outcomes being brought on by minors using the internet and social media unsafely or inappropriately. ThirdParent’s core product is a parent directed, confidential audit of the public facing internet profile and history of teens and pre teens. Predator risk, cyberbullying, posting harassing comments or inappropriate photos all can have real world consequences, especially when teens are applying for college or a job. We arm parents with the information required to guide more responsible internet use. In addition, we are partnering with schools to offer internet safety seminars for parents and students, at no cost to the school. Our service is unique in the marketplace, and we believe we offer a significant value for parents and schools.

Thanks to Rob Zidar, ThirdParent

Because we apply scientific principles and mathematical algorithms to opinions

My business is unique because we apply scientific principles and mathematical algorithms to something that, by definition, should be immune to such scrutiny—opinions. There are so many people publishing advice online about whether to buy, hold or sell a particular stock. I used to follow the recommendations some of them. But it felt like I lost more than my fair share in the stock market as a result. I wondered if I had a singular knack for following the advice of under-performing financial analysts. They don’t publish a weekly “Top 25″ poll like they do for college sports in the U.S. As a software engineer, I just felt there was a way to measure stock recommendations and, subsequently, rank the performance of individuals who make them against their peers. I did it first longhand. But then we worked up some Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms and developed a proprietary ranking technology to become the first cloud-based service to aggregate, analyze and compare online stock recommendations. We’ve become a valuable tool for the individual investor.

Thanks to Uri Greunbaum, TipRanks

A customized experience

As a licensed massage therapist everyone always asks me “What’s the difference between you and a spa?” I always compare it to getting coffee. Starbucks provides consistently decent coffee which delivers caffeine but if you’re seeking amazing coffee you’re more likely to try the little artisinal coffee house with a line all the way out the door. The same can be said about massage. Unlike spas, I don’t charge by service but rather by time and offer the full array of techniques that I provide to offer a truly customized and unique experience that can’t be paralleled.

Thanks to Anthony Zillmer, A 2 Z Massage Therapy

Helping people balance their lives

I am a small business specializing in health and productivity for the business traveler. I have a background in Exercise Physiology and have been a health coach for 20 years. I am also a Certified Productive Environment Specialist who has a passion for productivity consulting. I was a road warrior in the Clinical Research Industry for over a decade and learned how to balance travel, my personal life, stay healthy and train to compete in high-level ultra-endurance events, all while traveling! Being a business traveler isn’t just part of a job, it is a lifestyle and unless someone has dealt with the struggles of being on the road all the time, it is hard to relate to their special productivity and health needs. Often your time is out of your control, there is stress with being in a different bed several nights a week and trying to fit in exercise around flight delays, sub-par fitness centers etc. I specialize in helping people WorkWell so they can Play More!

Thanks to Marcey Rader, WorkWell Life Balance Solutions

Related Post: The Fine Line: Work Life Balance

The only one of its kind

My business is the definition of unique. Acli-Mate Natural Sport Drinks makes the *only* Mountain Sport Drink in existence. It is the only sport drink designed to help users acclimatize to high altitude. Many visitors to altitude (1 in 5) suffers some degree of altitude sickness due to the high elevation. This manifests as dizziness, nausea, headache, fatigue, and confusion. Hydration is fundamental to combating this (totally preventable) illness, and Acli-Mate Mountain Sport Drink is the only acclimatization aid in beverage form. It seems like a no-brainer that an altitude adjustment aid should be delivered in a vehicle that aids in its efficacy, but we remain the *only* acclimatization sport drink on the face of this Earth. Which is great for us! Acli-Mate Natural Sport Drinks are uniquely situated to help *any *and *all *travelers to elevation, anywhere in the world, our challenge is raising awareness and reaching those travelers before they get up into the peaks and start feeling the effects of altitude. My days are spent developing markets in the sport, travel, health, family, senior, and recreation categories. Running Acli-Mate Natural Sport Drinks is somewhat of a business unicorn – or chimera, an entirely unique product delivering positive effects to all who know and use it – but devilishly elusive and difficult to define, categorize, and streamline.

Thanks to Malia Britton, Acli-Mate Natural Sport Drinks

Three unique reasons

The three key differentiators which make Ovation unique are: 1.) All of our consultants are professional actors, 2.) tailoring our services and then measuring the results for our clients, and 3.) our approach to building a long-term relationships between our consultants and our clients. My co-founder, Kerri Garbis, has been a professional actor since childhood and first conceived what became Ovation. She noticed many similarities between her father’s preparation in his legal career to that of an actor. In my business career, (as well as some amateur acting), I recognized the same thing – the ability of actors to communicate confidently, clearly, and credibly in front of an audience is a skill set greatly needed by anyone in business. We developed that idea into Ovation and we’re making a difference in people’s careers all over the world, including companies like Microsoft and John Hancock. Coincidentally, businesses are realizing the value of collaborating with artists and we’re excited to be at the forefront of this connection.

Thanks to Eric Bergeron, Ovation Communication

Teaching customers how to create

My business is unique because it is the only company which focuses on teaching customers how to create what we create rather than just sell it to them. I am an Aromatherapist. I hold aromatherapy consultations and make customized products to target each customers unique health needs and individual tastes; I teach them how to make those products at home. I also hold classes at several Adult Education venues in the Boston area about how essential oils can help with a variety of health and beauty issues. My field of expertise is fascinating; it’s art & science. It makes people feel good and look good. My customers come because they want to learn a skill that will help them for the rest of their life. There is always more to learn, so they do keep coming back.

Thanks to Cher Kore, Kameleon Healing, Inc.

No similar products on the market

The Highchair Organizer is unique because it is the only product of its kind. There is no similar product, which gives me full responsibility of marketing the product on my own. The Highchair Organizer is also unique because it serves as a safety feature. By keeping mealtime essentials all in one place, parents no longer have to get up to retrieve those items. This results in less highchair injuries and makes mealtime less stressful. In addition to the safety feature, it is a cute product that adds some style to any highchair.

Thanks to Abraxas Abrams-Pickens, The Highchair Organizer

Uniquely solves a problem

Our business uniquely solves a problem that had not been solved before, which is to ease the burden of writing many thank you notes. It does this by eliminating the most repetitive and laborious parts so the writer can focus on the sentiment. In the end, recipients get cards that look exactly as if they were handwritten, even in the senders actual handwriting. The characters vary as they do with real writing, and there are other tweaks made to the message text to make it look real. But now the writer does not have to repeatedly re-write by hand the parts of the message that are used over and over, allowing him or her to focus on the message itself. Our handwriting technology is unique, and our process is unique.

Thanks to Paul Geller, Thankster

Unique training

So many people in accounting spend many a fretful night working late, under pressure to meet deadlines and stressed out by potential mistakes in critical spreadsheets. For businesses this means wasted time and added cost. It is the same grind day in and day out, month after month and year after year. While there is a plethora of Excel courses on formulas and functions, StopSpreadsheetErrors is unique in providing specialized professional training specifically targeted to optimize accuracy and efficiency. Through systematic controls that streamline the work process both time and money are saved with faster work turnarounds and higher productivity. Employees can finally go home at a reasonable hour!

Thanks to Breck Carrow, StopSpreadsheetErrors LLC

It serves two unique platforms

The iGiftback™ app for Android and Apple is unique because it serves as both a universal customer loyalty platform and a mobile fundraising tool. Consumers who use the app have access to amazing deals from local merchants as well as built-in opportunities to donate to nonprofits at no extra cost. This support for both businesses and nonprofits truly makes us a full-featured option for those who believe in shopping, eating, and living local.

Thanks to Sid Shugart, iGiftback

Because I use a foiling press to print and create my paper designs

I am a paper artist and I make bespoke paper designs. I create paper message birds, customised journals and other 3D animals that clientele ask for. My 3D paper birds are call message birds. These birds are for people who are hard to buy cards or presents for, so people can send a message bird that can be displayed all year round. I use a Heidelberg Special Cutter which is like a Heidelberg printing press but my Heidelberg only prints with foil. I have eight colours such as gold, silver, blue, red, black and white. My press also die cuts and embosses. I am totally self taught to use the 2.9 tonne machine which was once a male dominant industry.

Thanks to Norie Wah Day, Pritee Penee

An all female team

Blending the structure and systemisation Engineering with the collaborative, people aspects of Business has given rise to a unique business model with DVE Business Solutions. DVE evolved when I left my role as a Mechanical Engineer to join my mother in her Business Improvement project company. We quickly found that bringing my focus on processes and efficiency to clients, with a softer people-oriented infusion, worked in a way that we’re yet to see anywhere else. Bringing efficiency – so often a ‘dirty’ word in business – to organisations in a collaborative, transparent and communicative way has allowed us to foster positive change and work together with clients to make their working days more fun and effective. Our all-female team, based in Sydney and Adelaide, form a high performance team which brings their own flavour of fun and professionalism to each project, further enhancing the uniqueness of our rapidly growing business.

Thanks to Jo Schneider, DVE Business Solutions

Innovative solutions to a simple industry

We provide innovative solutions to a simple industry: automotive protection After noticing a void in the online market for automotive covers, I founded EmpireCovers. All of our products go through unconventional testing before hitting the market, from leaving a boat covered in the Caribbean for a month to ensure quality, to throwing pumpkins on a covered car to check durability. These are just a few reasons why EmpireCovers is able to guarantee satisfaction alongside industry leading warranties. We also understand the importance of keeping jobs in America. Our team, including a fully staffed customer service center, is located outside of Philadelphia and our warehouse is in Kentucky to ensure fast shipping. Another characteristic that sets EmpireCovers apart is our full line of American-made products that are manufactured in the USA, whereas our competitors are dropshippers for other manufacturers. Working with our development team and listening to customer feedback, we were able to identify new technologies and expand into new markets. Today, EmpireCovers has hundreds of semi-custom, protective products for cars, trucks, boats, RVs, bimini tops, carports and much more.

Thanks to Jake Goldblum, EmpireCovers

Roots in the 70′s

As far as I know, my green marketing consultancy, Green And Profitable, is the only one that has roots both in the marketing and environmental worlds dating back to the early 1970s. 1972 was the first time I published an article advocating more environmentally friendly policies, and that was the same year I got involved in an organizing campaign (successful) to prevent a nuclear power plant from being built 2 miles from NYC. I was 15 at the time. This may be part of why I was inducted into the National Environmental Hall of Fame in 2011, with a Lifetime Achievement award. So when a company comes to Green And Profitable for help marketing their green products and services–and marketing them differently to Deep Greens, Lazy Greens, and nongreens, they not only get the award-winning, best-selling author of Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet and the internationally syndicated monthly column Green And Profitable–they get more than 40 years experience.

Thanks to Shel Horowitz, Green And Profitable

Employs genuine baby nurses

Let Mommy Sleep is a unique business because it employs genuine baby nurses to assist in overnight infant care. Unlike other agencies, when we use the term “baby nurse” we mean it in the literal and legal way; clinically trained and licensed nurses. Let Mommy Sleep specializes in multiples care and has helped hundreds of families in the DC and Balitmore metro areas. The CEO of Let Mommy Sleep, Denise Stern, was inspired to start the company after her own personal experience with having twins and a 17 month old. Her husband had no paternity leave, and after many sleepless nights with the three babies, Denise finally found a friend of a friend to help. ” On our first night with her, it felt like my family had received our own personal angel. Over the weeks, having our night nanny truly enabled me to be a better mom and wife, and a healthier person,” adds Stern.

Thanks to Denise Stern, Let Mommy Sleep

Helping to educate women

Women are severely underrepresented on Wall Street, especially in the C-suites. In an ideal world, there would be nothing remarkable about a completely woman-owned and woman-run financial firm, but unfortunately that is not yet the case. At Lexion, our mission is to educate and empower people to take control of their financial lives, while building a better, more inclusive Wall Street . My goal is to inspire more women to pursue careers in finance and to aim for top positions on Wall Street. I hope that they see me and think, “If she can do it, I can do it too.”

Thanks to Elle Kaplan, Lexion Capital Management

Unique in the way it came to life

My business, otherwise known as my baby, doesn’t have a lot of years yet but it’s different in the way it’s come to life. Quotiful is an iPhone app that’s giving the world a whole new way to discover, create, and share beautiful picture quotes. I had the idea over a year ago after becoming frustrated with the inability to easily and quickly create your own picture quotes. Since day one of production, it’s been a tough battle and an endless roller coaster of ups and downs. Mostly, because it’s only me working to get it going while at the same time maintaining a full time job as a marketer in NYC. Because it’s only me on the business side of things, I outsourced all of the programming overseas to the Philippines. This lead to meetings every morning at 7:30 am before I run off to my day job and late night work sessions to get everything done for the next day. Throughout the entire process, my vision and passion for inspiring others through quotes have kept me going. Needless to say, sleep has been minimal!

Thanks to Nicole Raymondi, Quotiful

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