After working with dozens of boutique firms, and talking with hundreds of boutique firm founders, I have found a number of common lies that they tend to tell themselves. These lies are incredibly detrimental to their growth.

As with most things that I write, much of the advice comes from personal experience and struggle. I was one of these founders, and told myself a number of these lies, which stunted the growth of my previous firm.

So let's get this out of the way - you are not a special snowflake, and neither is your firm.

If I had a dollar for every time a boutique firm founder told me some variation of "what we do is so unique, we don't really have direct competition" I probably wouldn't be writing this newsletter. I don't know what it is about us experts, but we all seem to think we are so unique, that people clearly see this uniqueness, and that they see the value in this uniqueness for their business.

Read that paragraph again, and tell me that it doesn't sound too good to be true. It does, doesn't it?

Yet at the same time, many of these same founders are struggling to grow their firms. It is this lie that they tell themselves - that they are a special snowflake - that prevents growth. I want to walk you through a few common scenarios that perpetuate this lie, and help you avoid this self-made trap for yourself and your firm.

The main problem is with the framing around uniqueness. Unique quite literally means one of a kind, unlike anything else.

Lie: The Problem You Solve is Unique

If take a first principles approach, truly unique problems, ones that no business has ever encountered in any form, are incredibly rare. Do they happen? I am sure they do, but I honestly can't think of a single one in all my years in business. Most business challenges, fall into fundamental categories:

• Growth: Acquiring and retaining customers
• Finance: Managing resources (capital, people, time)
• Operations: Improving efficiency and effectiveness in producing goods or delivering services
• Legal: Navigating regulatory and legal environments

These core challenges remain the same across industries, business models, and time periods. What can be somewhat unique, are the contexts in which these problems appear. But even then, it's likely at least one other business has come face-to-face with that given problem with the same or similar enough context.

And here in lies the rub. One of the reasons people hire consultants, is because they have seen these problems in a variety of contexts, making them especially equiped to deal with the contextual nuance. So if their problem was really completely unique, there would be no point in hiring a consultant.

But don't take this the wrong way. I am not saying you shouldn't focus on getting good at solving a particular set of problems. You definitely should. The best consultants are t-shaped - they have incredibly deep expertise in solving a particular problem in a breadth of contexts. And it is important for you to be able to show this to prospective clients. The best way to do this, is to reframe the problem based on your expertise. Your entire objective is to get them to think differently about their problem, which should guide them toward your solution.

Lie: Your Solution is Unique

Better isn't the same as unique. And neither is different. Many founders I work with, who first say that their solution is unique, proceed to tell me how much better it is that what the competition does. By the way, I guarantee you that if I asked their competitors what they think, they would tell me that they themselves are unique and better. Again, coming at this from first principles, if you are saying that you are better than the competition, automatically means that you aren't unique. You are inevitably solving the same or similar problem in a similar enough way, at least as far as prospective clients are concerned.

And that's what matters - it's the literal definition of positioning - how your ideal clients see you, in the market you serve, in relation to other competing service providers.

Here's another way to think about it. If your solution really were completely unique - where everyone else in the industry solves it in a standard way, but not you - then inevitably in the minds of the your ideal client your solution will be seen as a risky bet.

But don't take this the wrong way. I am not saying that a different approach is a bad thing. In fact, based on your deep expertise with a particular problem in a bredth of contexts, you should be able to develop unique IP (frameworks and methodologies) that make your ideal client think differently about their problem. But at the end of the day, this won't be a one of a kind solution. It will inevitably have similarities to others in the market. But if yours is the one that gets them to think differently, then your solution becomes the less risky option.

Lie: Your Uniqueness is Desireable for the Buyer

Imagine coming into a crowded conference hall, but instead of walking like a normal person, you walk in upside down, on your hands... You will definitely catch people's attention, but it isn't likely to translate to any business - because people will think you are weird. The same thing is true with consulting services. If you make something different, simply for the sake of being different, it will be seen as a risky bet. People will wonder why all the other firms solve the problem the other way.

There are businesses and business models where uniqueness is extremely desireable. Think custom jewlery and other high end luxury goods. Uniqueness is a status symbol.

But when most people and business buy consulting services they aren't looking for a status symbol. They are looking for trusted service providers, who have a strong reputation in the market. They want to ensure that whoever they chose won't royally screw things up and get them fired. They want to ensure that whoever they chose can reliably solve their problem and deliver on the organization's objectives.

Sure, there are a select few consultants and firms who become a bit like a luxury good. They become a status symbol that people are excited to share openly with others. Every industry has them, and you have likely worked with one, where when you told people, they responded with something like "I am so jealous you got to work with them. What was it like?" Imagine having the opportunity to work with IDEO, or to work directly with Clay Christensen when he was still alive. You would be happy to tell people about it, but only if you were happy with the experience. The status symbol is a nice to have, and isn't often going to be your primary buying criteria.

But don't take this the wrong way. It's great to aspirationally have this as your target, but the vast majority of consultants and boutique firms won't get there and it also isn't necessary to build an extremely successful firm. That said, you should be looking to develop contextually relevant differentiation that reframes the core problem you help your clients solve.

The Reality

Many growth consultants and positioning experts will tell you that becoming and authority in a particular space, and having a unique methodology, will allow you to be "the best choice" or "the only choice". And founders eat this stuff up. Yet it's a complete falacy.

It doesn't matter how different you are or how much of an authority you are, there will always be competition. People will always compare you to others. At minimum, you will be compared to the status quo - either an incumbent firm, or existing internal solutions. And in the enterprise setting, where procurement is involved, you will inevitably be required to be compared to at least one or two others. The same is true in the public and non-profit sectors.

It is for this exact reason that turning your t-shaped expertise into IP is a requirement for sustainable growth. Your IP is what gives substance to your positioning. It's one thing to say "we are the leading authority on [insert problem]"; it's a completely different thing to give that statement substance with meaty and contextually relevant frameworks and methodologies.

Conclusion: You Have Competition, and Your Only Way to Win is to De-Risk the Buying Decision for Your Ideal Clients

Your ideal clients are operating in an environment fraught with risk. Every decision they make has consequences, and the amount of choice that exists to help them solve their problem is exponentially increasing. This creates a situation where it's easier and safer to stay with the status quo.

The only solution to this, is decreasing the perceived risk of making the wrong decision (to chose you over the status quo or someone else). There will always be competition. The question is, are you able to make your firm the lowest-risk option amongst this competitive set?

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