When you’re starting a new business, it’s tempting to copy an existing business model or branding approach because it feels all too familiar. But what you gain in relatability, you lose in innovation. Through careful strategy and positioning of your brand we target the small audience that love your product, rather than aim to please the masses that probably aren’t listening. Being remarkable means something worth making a remark about. When you’re delivering value to your niche audience, the ones that are listening intently, you become… remarkable.
Common sense would tell you that an innovative business is probably a scalable one. Well we’re in the business of art, and art is very special because it doesn’t scale. Good design inspires us because it’s uniquely personal, emotional and increasingly scarce. True innovators value design up front by utilising non-scalable artistic elements of design to differentiate their brand in order to avoid becoming another generic commodity. In the early days of brand building this process is messy, sometimes painful and rarely economical. Do what your competitors aren’t doing for lack of immediate financial reward. The key differentiator in your business will be good design, the kind that surprises people and gives it a soul to connect with.
A word about time. Timesheets are the crux of innovation and it’s the reason they don’t exist when we’re in problem solving mode. Ditching the clock has made us much better designers, developers and innovators. Trust in this process and you’ll understand why.