Deviating from industry norms is one of the most common characteristics we’ve seen among highly successful brands and professionals and so we’ve asked some brilliant folks to give us real life examples of how they do things differently from the industry standard.

Ryan Luis Rodriguez

As a podcaster, it seems everyone in my industry is content to just do a show where three white guys sit around and discuss the latest Marvel/DC spoilers. I try to bring a different flavor to the profession by making a podcast that actually stands out in that it’s the only one of its kind. My audience isn’t huge and I’ve never gone viral, but I can safely say with the utmost humility that it’s genuinely original. Would I prefer to do less work and get greater rewards (or any rewards for that matter) absolutely. But I wouldn’t feel as creatively fulfilled. Read more>>

Koi Reid

I am a mobile loctician, which differs from the industry standard in two main ways. First, I travel to do hair – I meet clients at their homes or hotels, rent chairs in partner salons, and meet clients outside in public spaces. Along with feeding my desire for travel and adventure, I am able to operate my business without paying rent or many of the other fixed fees that come with operating a physical hair salon. Read more>>

Nicholas Mason

Aligning the client’s vision and intentions with my skills and abilities, before & during their event

I believe many musicians fail to excel, or even attempt to excel, at both of these concepts. I am always a work-in-progress myself, but I do believe I spend the majority of my time and money focusing on these two concepts, whereas many other musicians focus completely on the wrong tasks and investments that do not allow them to be successful entrepreneurs in the entertainment business. Read more>>

Paulette Ensign

Many Subject Matter Experts, Speakers, Consultants, Coaches, and others believe writing a book is the sole path to credibility in their field. They also believe getting into bookstores, Big Box stores, having Amazon Best Seller status, and selling 1500 copies of their book is considered a great success before the book goes out of print, with the publisher owning the rights. Read more>>

Rebecca Gibbs

The industry standard in interior design is for a lead designer to create a tiered team underneath them that all work to produce underneath their name. All projects are credited to the lead designer and all project photos belong to the lead designer. This is a very successful way of running a design studio and I have worked at a design studio that operates in this fashion. What I discovered in my time working at a firm that operated in this way was that the designers having a lack of ownership over their creative property had a lack of energy and enthusiasm. Read more>>

Maë Sistermann

I don’t just show up to take beautiful photos—I come to understand the people I’m photographing. My process is rooted in connection. I spend time getting to know my clients, their energy, their dynamic, and the subtleties of their story. Because the more I understand them, the more honestly I can tell their story through images. Read more>>

Megan Offner

Product-based companies often prioritize the ‘what’ first, the ‘how’ second, and treat the ‘why’ as an afterthought. New York Heartwoods was founded on – and will forever be committed to – the reverse order. Before starting NYH, I worked in set design, constructing facades for fashion and advertising photo shoots. The work generated a mind-boggling amount of waste. Trees were cut down to build sets that would be in dumpsters within hours. At the same time, I was renovating a home and fell acutely ill from the toxicity of standard big-box building materials. Read more>>

Carly Jones

Engel & Völkers focuses on relationships versus transactions in the real estate business. This flows with my values in working with my clients. I work hard to working collaboratively with my clients and to create a personal relationships that focuses on their needs, wants and desires. It is not just about closing a transaction. it is about listening to my clients and figuring out how to make the process as easy and stress free as possible, while also understanding their pain points and what they are worried about or concerned about. I worked in corporate America previously and love that I am able to work to gain my client’s trust and work with them to make them feel valued and heard. Read more>>

Kristina Tafoya

After opening my shop in 2015, I started to put more focus on how we process the pain during a tattoo session. I found that you could get the same release as therapy without having to talk out loud and walk away with something beautiful to wear forever as a reminder that you are stronger than you knew. Taking a more therapeutic approach, with in the environment and in the tattooing process itself, my clients where able to feel confident and comfortable in their own skin again. I take pride in holding a higher standard to cleanliness, and professionalism. I specialize in cover ups and working with skin trauma. Read more>>

Jeremy Hodge

When I first started out, I didn’t launch my own business right away — not officially. My early career actually began in the world of computer animation. At just 20 years old, I was hired by Full Sail University to teach, which turned into a fast track through visual effects, demo reel production, and a deep dive into storytelling through motion. At that time, animation felt like magic — the kind of magic that comes from mastering something most people don’t understand. And I loved that. Read more>>