The Magic Meeting Point: Finding Your Unfair Advantage

“There’s nothing new under the sun.”

We’ve all heard this expression before, in a variety of contexts. One specific context, in which it rings particularly true, is in business. There is so much noise and over-saturation in practically every single industry, companies creating products with similar functions, and only the slightest variances; yet, they still wonder why growth occurs sub-expectations, why they don’t achieve the results they had hoped to.

The cause is simple to identify. The great majority of businesses started are lacking in product differentiation; I mean, think about it - if you create a product with nearly indistinguishable functionality from your competitors’, you are essentially joining the back-end of a very long line. In a first-come, first-serve fashion, the businesses who are excelling would be the ones who got to market first. Well, what if you could cut in line - start off somewhere in the middle; or better yet, start close to the front?

This, in fact, is a very possible thing.. And the answer lies in - yes, you guessed it - product differentiation.

You see, there are millions of people who are good at X thing, Y thing, and Z thing; but far, far fewer are simultaneously good at X, Y, & Z thing. Moving forward, we’ll call this XYZ bundle of skills your ‘magic meeting point’.

Sounds mystical, right? Well, allow me to demystify it for you. Your magic meeting point - otherwise known as the unique blend of skills and propensities that set you apart from the rest, is your key differentiator. It’s where the motivation and the money is… where the magic happens, if you will.

What draws you to the products you like, what makes them enticing?

Better said, what's their “magic meeting point”?

Is it Uber’s or Airbnb’s user-friendliness, unmatched convenience, and universality?

Is it LinkedIn’s unique focus on community-driven content, professional connection, and value creation?

It’s no coincidence that the brands that draw you in have a niche and an unwavering identity. They do not attempt to do everything, but rather do a few things very, very well. They have found their magic meeting point, around which every feature / functionality is created.

Coming to this realization earlier this year, I have probed meticulously to find my magic meeting point. Making sure to not focus on everything at once, and also to not hone in on just one element. Rather, identifying the X, Y, & Z bundle that can set my business apart in tandem.

If you were to ask me a few months ago, “what sets your business apart?”, I would have foundered for an answer. I mean, I thought I knew, but lacked assurance. This uncertainty inspired a moment of deep introspection. And fortunately, looking inwards resulted in an “aha-moment” - one of locating my magic meeting point and redirecting my business.

The answer lied in broadening my scope; rather than leveraging just one skill - teaching - I merged multiple skills to differentiate and maximize results.

So what is it? What’s the “magic meeting point” of my German business?

Singing, Languages, and Teaching! My online German education business now centers on a video series called “Sing und Lern” (Sing and Learn), through which I teach languages via songs and grammar jingles.

Was this the angle of my business since Day 1? Not at all.

My business initially centered on whiteboard grammar lessons - just me, writing on a board and teaching German grammar. While this method got a fair level of engagement, I knew that it would not be my end-all, be-all strategy.

Were my whiteboard language lessons valuable? That’s besides the point.

The better question was…

How many other people are delivering similar whiteboard language lessons? More than enough.

I flipped the narrative and thought, what other natural abilities can I incorporate to set these videos apart significantly?

Of COURSE. Singing and songwriting, a lifelong passion of mine, surfaced to top of mind.

What if I started teaching languages via song rather than whiteboard… creating grammar jingles to familiar tunes?

So I got to work, writing my first jingle teaching a grammar concept to a Disney instrumental track (simply because, who doesn’t know and love Disney).

To trim the detail and relay the impact, let’s just say release day was a HIT!

To no surprise, this video got FAR more engagement than any of my other posts. Over 10,000 views and 120 comments.

Why?

Well, quite simply, because it’s different. Because I’m the 1st player to bring this unique blend of talents to the market. People like new and original content. They seek it, they crave it. Needless to say, these video posts have continued to draw incredible engagement. And to think it all started with a painless strategy shift...

Now, I have a question for you.

What is your “magic meeting point”?

What unique blend of talents you bring to the table? If your knee-jerk answer is “Nothing,” think again. We all have natural aptitudes, there are no exceptions. It’s all about sniffing out and cultivating those aptitudes to create your competitive differentiator - whether your goal is to differentiate your candidacy for a dream job or to differentiate your dream business within your industry.

In any and every context, your magic meeting point should serve as your compass. It guides you in identifying & honing your unique blend of strengths, to go from good to great to best.

We are not good at everything, but for some reason, we try to be - employees, managers, and business owners alike. We try to convert our weaknesses into strengths - as individuals - or to offer a wide breadth of products and services - as business owners. Contrary to this common, yet unproductive, practice, success is not found in converting weaknesses and maximizing offerings. Success is found in niche and specialization.

The oversaturation of nearly every industry makes “Day 1 differentiation” an absolute must. The clearer your differentiator is upon hitting the market, the quicker your idea will grow and spread. There is no longer room for clone products. These types of products will face 1 of 2 endgames: stagnation or elimination. Either growth will remain at a standstill, with only marginal growth and increase in market share, or devolution will slowly unravel the business until it’s drowned out or bought out by the competition.

So in considering your personal time investments and in strategizing your company’s offerings, consider what your magic meeting point is. What are the unique abilities that, once combined, will set you apart and yield disruptive results?

A parting challenge to all current and aspiring business owners: find your distinct blend of aptitudes to differentiate your business, build team and product around it, and hustle unapologetically to create and evangelize. All that’s left is to sit back, relax, and watch the magic unfold.