A practical guide to standing out from the competition.
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That's what an unfair advantage looks like. Don't be put off by the word — in business it just means the thing you have that others don't. And for a creative entrepreneur, it's often what makes the work feel joyful rather than like work. The more you lean into it, the more distinctive your business becomes.
An unfair advantage is a strength competitors can't easily copy. That can come from identity, lived experience, or relationships that took years to accumulate.
For creative and service entrepreneurs, that might be a personal or cultural perspective that makes your work resonate with a specific audience in ways an outsider can't replicate. It could also be a combination of skills from different fields that nobody else has put together the same way, or relationships and trust within a specific community.
James helps organizations and communities process difficulty, reduce tension, and find hope through humor drawn from his own survival. "I use playfulness in team building to get everybody to let down their guard and get to know somebody different," he says. His clients come for the comedy and stay because they recognize themselves in it.
Understanding your unfair advantage is important when you're talking to lenders, too. Service businesses might not be as competitive on hard assets, but very strong on reputation, relationships, and a differentiated perspective. Being able to say clearly why your business is the right one to invest in is part of making a compelling case.
Start with your background. Write down the experiences, communities, identities, and perspectives you carry that are unusual in your field. Think about your skillset too, but notice what excites you — the work that feels like play is often where your real differentiator lives. DreamSpring's Lean Model Canvas Business Planning worksheet can help you see your whole business model on one page, which is a good place to spot what makes you different.
Then look at your most loyal clients or customers. They've already voted with their time and money. Ask them what you give them that they haven't found elsewhere. Their answers often name your differentiator more precisely than you can yourself.
Once you have a sense of what makes you different, try putting it into a single sentence: "We are the only [type of business] that [specific differentiator] for [specific audience]."
It should feel uncomfortably narrow. That's the point. A positioning statement that fits everyone fits no one. A wellness coach might write: "We are the only trauma-informed wellness practice that serves first-generation college students in rural communities." That level of specificity is what makes a business memorable to the people who need exactly what it offers.
Once you have a draft, ask a trusted peer or mentor to poke holes in it — who else does this? What would make a potential client choose a competitor instead? AI tools like Claude for Small Business can help you wordsmith your statement once you have something rough on paper.
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More resources for writing your "only" statement
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Your unfair advantage should be in your website copy, your business pitch to investors and lenders, and how you describe yourself in a first conversation. DreamSpring's guide to Finding (and Flexing!) Your Creative Business Brand can help you carry your positioning into how you present yourself visually and verbally.
As it turns out, playing to your strengths can actually be a fun and creative way to run a business — and the hardest to compete with.
Quotes excerpted from Grit and Growth: Candid Stories and Lessons for Building a Small Business with Purpose (Wiley), Chapter 6, Laughing All the Way: Play, Humor, and Joy.
For more small business resources, visit the DreamSpring Business Resource Library.