Is There a Secret to Success?

Many entrepreneurs or business owners dream that one day their business will break through and become the new "it" business of its category. Personally, I dream that my non-profit will one day be compared to other non-profits such as Susan G. Komen and LIVESTRONG. So, with so many people wanting to break through why do only a few ever make it there? We all know that success includes two main ingredients, hard work and perseverance, but there's something else that must be thrown in there to truly stake your claim in whatever business area you're focused on, you must be a ground-breaker.

Every successful business I've studied has tapped into something different, something special and unique. Take the LIVESTRONG Foundation for example, the yellow LIVESTRONG bracelets became a staple product and soon many other companies and organizations followed suit, making silicone bracelets embellished with their names and logos. The Susan G. Komen Foundation used the color pink, a female associated color, to raise awareness for a female associated cancer. Susan G. Komen has become one of the leading labels for breast cancer awareness and funding and the color pink has made them millions of dollars for research.

The bottom line is, most successful businesses and organizations have used some staple, some previously untapped marketing tool to generate awareness and income for their cause. Remember, these companies didn't become successful overnight. It takes time and hard work to accomplish success like that of the best businessmen in the world and their resumes will tell you that. If you have been looking for success, and can't find it, try looking for your staple tool, you're most marketable asset and use it to promote what you believe in. Your groundbreaker can be anything a color, a bracelet, a quote, an image. Find it and use it to your advantage. It will take time; I'm still looking for mine. The ground breaker is where the success lies, so get your bulldozer and start looking for the piece of land your ready to take on. You might find a pot of gold buried underneath.