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.

Jonathan Barton

In our agency, we pride ourselves on breaking away from the traditional norms of the design industry. While we work across diverse sectors, including ed-tech, web3, cosmetics, fashion, and more, we believe that design is fundamentally about problem-solving and effective communication, both digitally and physically. One area where we have chosen to stand out is in our increasing focus on Biotech, Biopharma, and Life Sciences. Read more>>

Daa’iyah Cooper

A significant part of what I do currently is providing mentorship and guidance to people who are new to real estate investing or trying to scale up their real estate portfolio. As opposed to being broad and marketing to all comers, I unapologetically focus on offering my services to black women professionals and business owners. That stems from my passion for creating a safe space for these women to learn about an industry that traditionally has not had them as a central focus. Read more>>

Jessica Dalziel

At the Peer Advisory Group, we believe that true leadership comes from fostering stronger connections and leveraging collective wisdom. Instead of trying to teach women how to be leaders, we create an environment where professional women from around the world can grow through shared experiences, diverse perspectives, and supportive relationships. Read more>>

Justin LeVett

I specialize in being a generalist. This enables me to be able to photograph what ever my clients need, without having to shop around for multiple photographers to capture all of their work. I build long lasting years long relationships with clients to build their image library and create their brands look. Through our partnership I get to know their brand on a personal level, with a lot of talking, conceptualizing with them and am able to speak into the brand through the photography that we capture together. Read more>>

Natalia González Hernández

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is the perfect self-defense system for women, but only if it is taught correctly. It is common practice at BJJ schools around the world for techniques to be presented in complete randomness and for the class to be tailored to meet the needs of the more advanced students. Learning in such an unorganized environment can be extremely frustrating and overwhelming, and new students almost always feel left behind. Read more>>

MaryJane Carnahan

Historically, surrogacy has often been a private and secret journey navigated by intended parents. There was a sense of stigma or taboo associated with this path, which led many to pursue it quietly. However, in our modern society, the narrative around surrogacy has started to change significantly. It’s becoming more transparent, more accepted, and even embraced as a viable and wonderful option to grow a family. Read more>>

Amanda Tipps

The core beliefs and practices of Ritual Space stands apart from your more traditional salon. At Ritual Space all our services are booked at an hourly rate. No more men’s cut versus women’s cut. No more add-ons and service fees. You just pay for your stylist’s time. That’s it. Every stylist at Ritual Space has set a price for themselves that they feel represents their skills and expertise. Oh, and did I mention that all services are gratuity free?! Read more>>

Emmaus Vanderbilt

It’s very common in the wedding video industry to have a long turnaround time such as 11-12 weeks (Vowness, 2023). We strive to get couples their full wedding video back in 2-3 weeks as only 11% of wedding videography companies complete their videos in less than 4 weeks (Vowness, 2023). Since our team has created an industry leading turnaround time (without sacrificing quality) our clients love telling all of their friends about us. Our Google Business page has over 75 5-star reviews with many of them raving about our turnaround time. Read more>>

Abraham Gutierrez

I think a lot of people who try and start a brand get frustrated with it because it’s not giving them the capital they thought it would at first and there’s way more to it than just throwing anything on tee shirts, and I get It but it takes a lot of love to be okay with a slow process! The first time I try anything I’m clunky at it as are most people, trying to make sales while still keeping a creative edge is definitely something you learn over time. One of my biggest mistakes was not being connected to the fashion part of what I was doing (selling my art on clothes) that hindered me greatly. So I slowly learned what I liked and painfully learned what I didn’t like to wear. Read more>>

Alyssa Hill

Well, I guess you could say that Hill Interiors is, in some ways, entirely backward from the industry standard. (Hah!) The most recent backward thing about this business is my transition from functioning as a traditional in-person design firm to an entirely online virtual design firm (AKA E-Design). I’ve received lots of questions about why I “took a step back” but I really don’t see it that way. I actually see this as a wonderful pivot for my business to allow me to directly meet the needs of a much wider client base (now nationwide) with much more ease. The traditional brick & mortar design firm model just doesn’t fit with my own current needs & desires or my clients’ needs & budgets (at least for now!). Read more>>

Summer D’on

At D’on Cosmetics, we believe that makeup is not just about covering up imperfections or enhancing one’s features, but it’s also a form of self-expression and creativity. That’s why we strive to create products that not only perform well but also inspire our customers to unleash their inner artist. We work tirelessly to formulate products that are not only long-lasting and easy to use but also safe and gentle on the skin. We use only the finest quality ingredients to ensure that our products provide excellent results without compromising on skin health. Read more>>

Jenna Geueke

When most people think of music lessons, they picture walking into someone’s home or place of business, sitting in a staged room for learning, and going home to ignore what had been said. When I began teaching in Texas, I lived with family and there was no space for me to have a studio. I had to get creative. I offered to teach in student homes, and there are fabulous benefits other teachers miss in refusing to travel. Read more>>

Camille Remi Kirby

As a filmmaker, there are many routes you can take to tell stories and get those stories heard. Unfortunately, living in Los Angeles, everything is geared and focused towards the Hollywood format of filmmaking, which quite often means just having a lucky encounter with someone who will read your script or working your way up from production assistant to director. By all means, that is one way to do it. But I’ve mostly been influenced by filmmakers who have come from abstract backgrounds and have found themselves in the world of cinema just by way of opportunity. Of course, they are usually not American and thus away from Hollywood, but they still manage to make films independently and work their way up by just constantly creating. Read more>>

Christabelle Izevbizua

As the owner and operator of a home improvement business in The Bahamas, what I do differently from other similar businesses is show the ‘behind the scenes’ of the business. There are some companies and small businesses who post every so often but it’s mostly the pretty finished work, not usually the work in action or the in and outs of the business. I try to show the design process, the work in progress, and me – my personality – as the owner who also has a ‘9-5’ and works around obstacles trying to start/finish client work around my day job schedule. Read more>>

Mariana Durst

In the buzzing world of modern commerce, where artistry and business often live in separate realms, a fresh outlook is not just welcome, but necessary. Through Mariana Durst Studio, I offer a new way forward that allows my visionary clients to be creators and savvy entrepreneurs. Standard marketing doctrines don’t always play nicely with the souls of artists. Their focus on metrics and profit can often neglect the heart and soul that fuels creativity, leaving artists detached and exhausted. It’s not a lack of skill or ambition that feeds the “starving artist” myth, but rather a lack of business models that respect the ebb and flow of creativity, the true worth of artistic sincerity, and the important bond between artist, artwork, and audience. Read more>>

Jeremy Ledgewood

We’ve seen some crazy things happening with fertilizer lately, most notably a hike in prices and a mass shortage. These things are impacting everyone as a whole. We got tired of paying an arm and a leg for fertilizer and having our growing season impacted by the fertilizer shortage — not to mention depending on other countries to source something we could do here. That’s when we developed SafeGro as an alternative to conventional treatment methods. What’s different about our fertilizer in comparison to others is that it’s uniquely designed to accelerate microbial growth and decrease a grower’s nitrogen usage while still using the 6, 8, 12 method. We also added humic acid to our fertilizer. Read more>>

Jason Angelini

I would say that the biggest difference we are most proud of is how vertical our company is. Not only do we make all our products ourselves, but we also do all our own shipping/fulfillment, customer service, marketing, sales, etc. This allows us to maintain exceptional control over our products, customer engagement, branding, etc. There is a big temptation to outsource in this time of AI and cheap overseas labor, but you lose so much touch with your business when you do that. Keeping all of this in-house is not great for our bottom line and we definitely have higher overhead costs, but it is allowing us to build a company and brand that we are intimately connected with and I believe it is paying off and will continue benefiting us in the long run. Read more>>

Alexandria Palzewicz

Northwoods Test Kitchen (NTK) operates under the umbrella of Barrel + Beam, a farmhouse and barrel-aged focused brewery located in Marquette, Michigan. Our kitchen is small 12 by 17 feet in dimension, and was previously was an unused space for the establishment. The kitchen is all electric, with no gas stoves or deep fryers. We use a few induction burners, and half-size electric convection ovens to do our cooking. We like to keep things simple, though you’d be surprised what we can do out of the small space. Read more>>

Otto Sabina

One of the primary differences between Pandect’s business model and the industry standard is in the timing, offering, and volume of products we release in Pandect Wear Capsule Releases. The industry standard for clothing companies whether corporate (think J. Crew or GAP) or smaller (Stussy or Supreme) follow’s a general seasonal trend to help inform the products they produce and subsequently release. In addition to following the season, companies typically produce a humongous volume of products, usually in order to fill factory MOQ’s (minimum order quantity) and position themselves to be able to sell these products as competitively priced as possible. Read more>>

Kari Coffindaffer

Fitness studios generally rely on external factors to validate an exercise or workout experience. Use of mirrors, metrics, competition, comparison, etc are all used. At RINSE, we believe that physical fitness can be an internally validated experience. We don’t use mirrors, metrics, or any form of comparison and teach from sensation/feeling cues rather than outward appearance cues. We have found that this builds a better brain to body connection, so you are actually working with yourself from the inside out vs trying to recreate an appearance or hit a number. In our experience this also builds confidence, which generates a higher output of work and offsets self doubt and insecurity when it comes to movement. Read more>>

Delon Jones

What i have noticed over the years, in the automotive industry the options for the people that have bad credit have limited resources. Most large dealer groups consider it a big risk to try and offer programs for high interest loans. So they stick to the model of if you don’t qualify for a conventional auto loan we can’t help you. Read more>>

Raychel Sanner

What we’ve always done at Tornado Titans is stay ahead of the curve when it comes to where content is going. I’ve never thought about where we are, but where things are heading. This includes which platforms to engage on, how we engage on those platforms, and so much more. Generally, my overall thoughts are that if everyone else is doing something, you probably aren’t that skilled or special to usurp the current leaders in the market by doing the exact same thing they are. Read more>>

Eva Barbara Bongard

While many in the decor industry follow a standardized mass production model, at TWIL, I tread a distinct path that reflects our core values of sustainability, philanthropy, and love. Sustainability forms the backbone of our approach at TWIL. Unlike industry norms, our creations are crafted from a natural and sustainable material: leather. Each piece carries an echo of the Earth within it. This choice compels us to prioritize suppliers who are audited and follow best practices in producing eco-friendly leather. Ensuring our producers uphold these rigorous environmental standards is a vital aspect of our supplier selection process.” Read more>>

Jordan Fry

As a former professional ballerina, and now mom of 2 little girls (a 2 year old and 8 month old), my values and business strategy look a bit different at this point in my career. I value smallness. Our culture and world like to tell us that we have to scale and build and make more… but in my current season I have learned that there is value in slowness. I would consider myself more of an artist rather than a baker. Don’t get me wrong, I love cake and really anything sweet! But my favorite part of the process is creating. From beginning to end, something luxurious and unique. Something that can’t be replicated by a machine or another person. I make all my cakes in small batched with the finest of ingredients, most of them I source locally. I then will spend weeks on the details of the cake design. Read more>>

Alison Harney

I feel like most of what I’m doing with Writing Room ATL is not industry standards. I charge very little for my writing groups and have no kind of application for incoming writers. I do almost nothing on social media to promote myself or my business, and I do not encourage my writers to chase publication. I have purposely tried to create a home for writers that is outside of academics or the market, and is instead about community and relationships. Read more>>

Christelle Zarb

We live in a world where everything is mass produced. Nothing is made to last and nothing is truly unique. Unless it’s handmade! That’s what I love about running a small business of handmade items. Not only do I endeavor to produce high quality and unique jewelry, but I also want to make women feel beautiful. We live such busy lives, that self care usually falls low on the priority list. I love creating jewelry that elevates a casual outfit and requires no extra effort in your part. If you look great, you feel great. When you feel great, you’re ready to take on the day! Read more>>

Mirina Garoufalidis

I think what makes the way I work different from a lot of people is my commitment to healing. Healing has been a necessary part of my work in owning a business as I deal with a lot of self-doubt & anxiety. Putting yourself out there is one of the fundamentals of growing clientele, and it’s hard to do that when your mind is self-sabotaging! That’s why healing is always, always part of my process. The literal necessity of healing to run my business has also made self-care and rest equally important as the time I spent on my craft. Communicating when I’m dealing with grief or at capacity is one of the things that makes the way I operate radically different than the industry standard. We are human, we feel things, and *especially* as a creative, the power of what I make comes directly from how well I’m caring for myself. Read more>>