Doing things your way is one of the best parts of being your own boss and when done right seems to be highly correlated with outsized success. So, we wanted to gather real-world examples to shed more light on how the best artists, entrepreneurs and leaders differentiate themselves from others in their respective industries.

Sara Gullickson

As a national consulting firm for the cannabis industry, one of our secrets to success is our team’s expertise. I’ve been in the industry for ten years and my colleague, Maxime Kot, who serves as President at The Cannabis Business Advisors, has seven years of experience. We’ve been consulting for cannabis companies, brands, entrepreneurs and business owners since the beginning. Even though there are more consulting firms now than there were a decade ago, I feel our industry background continues to set us apart. Along with our expertise, we’ve also remained a boutique group, which really allows us to work with applicant who we believe will help the industry thrive. Read more>>

Claudia Duran

Yes! Because I have been through my own personal journey of transformation, I approach working with clients of diverse backgrounds through the lens of authenticity and seeing what is beautiful and special about each of them, and how to best communicate that. My vast experience working in global marketing laid the foundation for understanding all different types of people, as well as how they think and what makes them tick. I am insatiably curious. Everyone has a story. I truly love connecting people, and feel called to do this work on a deep level. Read more>>

Naama Nevipur

We would like our brides to Experience the Difference of a Couture Gown made with the Upmost Luxury and Attention to Details. Customizations are made to fit the Brides specific vision for her special day. We allow altering and adjusting the design unlike other designers and brands , ordering a dress from us makes you THE ONE not one of thousands.. We use different ways to compliment the woman figure and to emphasise what we want to see the most We listen and create your dream! Read more>>

Eugene Valle

I feel like even though we are a resell shop we are very retail oriented. We put a lot of focus on our home brand, allow people to come in & get free legit checks or even just providing a safe space for others to conduct deals. Before the pandemic we would throw free events for people to just come out & have a good time, we plan on picking that back up very soon. Read more>>

Christy Heiskala

I work for a civil law firm that specializes in sexual assault, sexual harassment, and child sexual abuse cases. It is extremely rare for a personal injury firm to only focus on these cases. It makes a huge difference in the way we work, the way we treat our clients, and the outcome of their cases. The biggest difference is that civil law firms have an intake person that is not trauma-informed and not trained as sexual assault counselor or victim advocate. I am a credentialed victim advocate and sexual assault counselor with extensive and continuous trauma-informed training. At our law firm, I support our clients from intake through resolution. I check in with them regularly, send them care packages, and help them find the best resources. Read more>>

Jarvisson King

I believe everything I do is different from the industry. Commercially raised (grain-fed) and Grass-fed meat are both finished on grain. My animals free range on pastures for 99.9% of their lives. The meat I sell is pasture raised and pasture finished lamb, goat, & beef meaning they are consuming native vegetation for their entire life. The only time they get alfalfa is the night prior to them being processed. Read more>>

Adeline Borra

When you love food & wine, Burgundy is a wonderful destination. The area includes many great restaurants & almost 4,000 winemakers, most of them spending their time in the vineyards or in their cellars making their wines but very little time to offer to visitors. Most of the large wine companies will be open to public but you may miss what makes the beauty of our region, the diversity of the terroirs, the people making the wines and their stories. As a chef & wine expert, I’m able to offer a true unique & authentic experience and I like to spend time with my guests sharing my passion for food and wine, especially my love for our beautiful Burgundy region. Read more>>

Layane Maximiliano

We deliver most of the pieces ourselves. Since the beginning of our company, we’ve noticed how special a client felt when we knocked at their door with their piece. The connection we make since the whole process of designing the piece starts, through follow ups, making of, until the piece is ready is just completed in the delivery! It’s the best part! Read more>>

Jennifer Jakobsen

Yes, I help women build the foundation of their business first instead of focusing on things that don’t really matter in the beginning. My signature foundational system helps women to gain clarity and confidence around the important pieces in their business first. You can’t build anything without a foundation. So often I see my clients get focused on building a perfect website, email funnel or business logo as their first step. This is actually backwards. I help them to get ultra clear on their vision, their mission, who their dream client is and how they help them before they do anything else. The other part of clarity that I help them with is their mindset blocks. These will inevitably come up as an entrepreneur and knowing is critical to navigating the ups and downs. Read more>>

Rachel Beck

Yes, because if you think about the majority of well-designed products (or any product in general) out on the market, most of them go for either high-quality materials and/or materials that are most cost-effective to hit their margins. In design, the first 80% of the product is designed within the first stage, where sustainable materials should be part of the conversation. This isn’t the priority in most cases, it’s usually profit over people. Years ago, when I worked as a furniture designer (for a corporate company), materials used had to be the most cost-effective so that their margin of 60% was still feasible! There was no thought to toxic off-gassing, paint and finish VOC’s, etc. This is the main reason for why I started Newd Elements. Read more>>

Andrew Duffell

Global Ventures is our incubator, designed specifically for second-stage tech companies to scale to the next level of growth. Most incubators focus on startups, whereas we have chosen to support those companies whose products have been validated and are available in the market. Our ideal second-stage company generates approximately $1m annual revenue and employs approximately 12 people, with the potential to significantly disrupt one of the industries of key interest to Florida Atlantic University: sensors, embedded networks & smart cities; healthcare/life sciences; and environmental technologies. Read more>>

Carly Burson

I am committed to changing the narrative around fashion and sustainability. We do this by honoring the Earth from the moment we design our garments and with consideration of the full product life cycle. Decreasing Water Consumption and Pollution The conventional fashion industry uses thousands of liters of water to produce a single garment and introduces tons of harmful dyes into the ground, atmosphere, and waterways. At LAUDE the Label, we design our manufacturing process to minimize water usage and to be free of toxic chemicals. To lessen our environmental footprint, we work with low-impact dyes, use upcycled materials, and create a high percentage of our garments with earth-friendly natural fibers, like linen, which require less water and energy to produce. Read more>>

Cultura

The industry standard for most dance studios is to cater toward the every day dancer/hobbiest. It’s the most profitable and secure route to go. We at Cambio Studio focus our skills and classes toward the dancer/artist interested in making a career out of dance. We also offer a different type of training where instead of offering only choreography classes (classes where you learn a routine) we also offer foundational street style techniques (Yup, Hip Hop has technique just like Ballet). It’s a more difficult and niche lane to drive in but more rewarding in the end. Our goal is to have every dancer that trains at our studio leave well rounded and able to achieve any and all goals they have and to have a long lasting career. Read more>>

Christian Klingeler

At Christian K Gallery we do things differently. We not only have already made abstract artwork but we pride on customizing art for client’s homes. Clients are able to purchase or custom order stunning contemporary artwork. We provide in home design consultation with the artist and professional interior designer. Keeping the environment, architecture and design style in mind we are able create an AutoCAD elevation to suggest the best art style and size for the client’s space. We also offer custom framing. Read more>>

Alice Laura

Our models go beyond beautiful faces and are valued for what they bring to the table. Our mission is to break down the prejudice of models being beautiful but empty shells. Our team wants to encourage young people to focus on their education, learn new languages, travel abroad, open their minds and learn from different ways of living. Moreover, our models make valuable connections with companies and learn about different industries while working with us. We hope to be an inspiration for a lot of young people and, actually, have already inspired a lot of our models to work on their foreign language skills and to feed their minds apart from taking care of their outward appearance. Read more>>

Kendall Inman

Everything is in the details and it’s the little things in hospitality that can matter the most. One of my gifts is the ability to understand guests expectations and exceed them. There is a story behind every decision that made Jungle Keva what it is today. In Mexico (especially Tulum) the majority of developers don’t save trees and aggressively destroy flora and fauna to erect 18 unit condominiums with no regard to what came before them. We wanted to honor the land before we even broke ground, so we consulted a local shaman named Avelino to perform a sacred ceremony to bless the land and ask its permission to build upon it. 70% of the original vegetation was saved during construction. Read more>>

Amy Reczek

We look at sales with an addition lens and include a heavy focus on Relationship (Soft) Skills within our consulting. Did you know 85% of successful business is relationship skills? Read more>>

Michael Lassner

The problem itself is the ‘industry standard’ – it typically (and unfortunately) does not meet client expectations for service and quality. So we set out to define and execute a unique, and demanded, level of service, which is the core tenant of our company. How do we accomplish a high level of service and quality for our clients? It starts by investing in a team of professionals who thrive on challenge and measure the value of their work on a client’s success. The skillset behind that investment is critical. Read more>>

Kathryn Roberts

There’s a very common teaching you’ll see amongst online business coaches, especially those coaches who are educating and mentoring other would-be coaches and service providers. That teaching is: wait until you have mastered selling your services before you start creating and selling digital products. And I agree with that–to an extent. One of the keys to successfully building a coaching or other service-based business is to master selling that service, and to work with your highest-achieving ideal clients to find out exactly what the people in your industry need from you. It makes everything easier from sales, to scaling to marketing when you know exactly what your people need from you. Read more>>

Becca Graham

The fitness industry is ever-evolving. Although there are important changes beginning to take place, there is still a high emphasis on calorie-counting, fat-burning, body size transformations, and pushing your body to burnout. We believe it’s never too late to learn, acknowledge our contribution to problematic industry standards, and shift accordingly. For years, we offered a results-based program that included before/after photos, weigh-ins, and measurements, applauding decreasing numbers and sizes. Although it was our highest revenue generator, we hit the brakes on the program realizing it wasn’t in line with our company values. We want all of our classes and programs to reflect our belief that all bodies are good bodies. Read more>>

Vanessa Molica

The Lash Professional focuses on creating a space for entrepreneurs in the beauty industry. Our mission is to educate. The more success other artist have, the more success we have. Read more>>

Beth Hommel

Advertising Agencies have a bad rep from inflated retainer fees, marked up billable hours and not really caring about the clients needs. I started the PLM Agency on the opposite values, NO retainer fees, we do not charge billable hours, and we ONLY care about our clients success! Our Mission statement is a quote from good old Teddy Roosevelt~ People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. I truly believe this and we follow this every day, in every contact, email and phone call. Read more>>

Susan Cartiglia Aran

Radiate Kombucha sells kombucha and traditionally brewed probiotic beverages in sustainable packaging to wholesalers such as Whole Foods Market, Milams and HEB as well as hundreds of local restaurants, cafes, markets and hotels in Florida and Texas. We sponsor beach clean ups and give back to our community supporting small farms and putting efforts back into cleaning up Biscayne Bay. Radiate delivers distinctive value with superior recipes crafted by a nutritionist using functional and locally sourced ingredients, sustainability efforts and highly competitive pricing. Read more>>

Clay Jones

Created a social dog house where dogs are free to roam and play all day and night. Business looks more like a artsy night club for dogs than a kennel. We party here, we have have fun, and dogs are equal to humans here. We jam out after closing with the boarding canines. We are your not your typical dog daycare, being different and weird is what sets us apart. Read more>>

Michelle Stawski

In the last 2 years I’ve incorporated dog training into my breeding program. It has opened my eyes to how mislead the general public is about what a dog needs and how to have a fulfilling relationship with your dog. When families first bring a puppy home, people usually go straight into obedience. Correcting the puppy too much, too much affection, giving treats just for being cute and snatching toys from the dogs mouth is not the correct way to build a bond. Most of what I do now is programming the puppies with a daily routine in which their families can continue when they bring their puppy home. The routine is very detailed and incorporates all feeding, playing, potty breaks and meal times. Read more>>