There’s a video going around on the internet about a chicken that runs like a penguin. The owners claim that it has never You can’t make soup out of her. From the chicken’s perspective, this is a complete success! If you want to avoid being “made into soup,” you need to learn how to stand out from those around you. It doesn’t matter whether it’s received well or poorly; the point is to be different. Moldy cheese may be spoiled, but that’s what draws attention to it. Don’t be afraid of being “spoiled”; be afraid of being just like everyone else. And if you aren’t afraid of the potential negative outcome of standing out, you’ll achieve something good.
The main secret is that in this flat world, it’s enough to be just a niche player or a quirky product to find a sufficient number of fans among the entire population of the country. Imagine that you start offering a service or product that will be categorically rejected by 95% of the population for reasons unrelated to quality or usability, but at the same time, 5% of the population will fall in love with it and will be eager to “pull” it from you. Now, compare this to a situation where you are one of 100 or 1000 producers of a standard product that is in demand by 95% of the population. What market share can you expect, all else being equal? Will you be able to compete on equal footing with the giants that exploit economies of scale and huge advertising budgets? Will anyone be “pulling” it from you? No, you will have to “push” it. And pulling is always easier than pushing, which is why most cars today are front-wheel drive.