Stand Out Massively In Your Industry by Becoming the ONLY

Jesse Cole is known today for disrupting baseball with his team, the Savannah Bananas. Today, he is being featured in the Wallstreet journal, but 15 years ago he was struggling as he managed a small team in North Carolina. He came to the painful realization that the experience of baseball is unremarkable. He moved to Savannah, Georgia determined to try and bring some more excitement to baseball. 

After a drained bank account and a sold house, Jessie realized that baseball means nothing without its fans, so that is where he had to go all in. He looked at the world around him and saw that he was in a “highlight-based” world. TikTok and Instagram reels had people’s attention shifting at lightning speed, and the 3-hour baseball games simply could not compete. 

So he flipped the baseball on its head. 

The Savannah Bananas became a baseball circus complete with a dancing umpire and TikTok choreography and a first baseman trained in ballet. By being different from any other baseball team in existence, Jessie was able to go from broke to running a seven-figure company. 

Jesse’s innovation in baseball can be applied to any company in any industry. Your task as a business owner is to determine how you can become the ONLY. 

How can you be the ONLY?

ONLY is an acronym coined by Jessie to explain the massive success of the Savanah Bananas and how other companies can duplicate this success in their own industry. 

O – Own the problems in your industry

Every industry has something that annoys consumers. Some problems are simply accepted by customers and they have no idea a solution is possible. Before Netflix innovated movie rentals, it was accepted that you had to drive to a movie rental store that may or may not have the film you are looking for. So what are the big complaints about your industry that nobody seems to be solving? This is your starting point to creating something that will attract not only customers but raving fans.

N – Noise

Don’t be afraid to be flashy! Whatever that means for your brand and business, we are all fighting for attention nowadays. If you have a solution that you are excited about, shout it from the rooftops. Create marketing and advertising strategies that are guaranteed to capture someone’s attention. Whether you are being silly or shocking, do something that is going to grab and hold people’s attention long enough to show them what you are about.

L – Love

Love your customers, love your employees, and love yourself. If you authentically care about the stakeholders in your business, that radiates out into everything you do. Whatever you do, do it with all of your heart. 

Y – why are you doing what you are doing? 

You have to be clear on how what you do has meaning. Whether it’s a baseball game, a physical product, or a service, it’s important to get clear on the deeper thing you are selling. Why does your product matter? And how is your product different from the others? Clarity on the answer to these questions puts you at the starting point of building raving fans. 

On your journey to becoming the ONlY in your industry, remember to focus on innovation over iteration. Iteration is doing something better, but innovation is completely changing the game for the better. Innovation requires more risk, but it’s a lot more worth it in the end. You have to try things that might not work and never stop pushing.