Did you ever watch the show “How I Met Your Mother”? It had the typical cast of twenty-somethings living in New York City, but the running theme was that the main character, Ted, was on a quest to find his true love. Occasionally, we would get a glimpse of a yellow umbrella as a clue that Ted had almost found her. Yellow umbrellas, in a sea of black and grey, certainly stand out.
Standing Out
As a business owner and quilt designer, I strive to offer my customers something different as well, that personal touch and connection that you don’t get from the big brands. Mike Michalowicz is an entrepreneurial coach who encourages us to find our -est and stand out from the crowd. Are you the funniest, kindest or most knowledgeable about TV sitcoms? Mike’s book, Get Different, guides us to embrace those quirks and turn them into marketable assets that will set us apart from others and attract our true fans.
Get Different Marketing Lessons
I know this is a quilting blog, but many quilters are small business owners. Have you ever tried to sell your finished items at a craft fair or an online marketplace like Etsy? Have you designed a really cool pattern and thought of distributing it to quilt shops? Quilting is a huge industry and I want to get better at marketing my products. Get Different is a great resource to help all of us improve our marketing.
Note: some links in the post are affiliate links. I receive a commission if you purchase after following the link. Read my full Disclosure policy here.
You may know the author of Get Different, Mike Michalowicz, from his previous books such as Profit First and The Pumpkin Plan. If you have read those, you know Mike has an engaging storytelling style, with lots of 80s pop culture references. For this book on marketing, he has done the research and brings us examples from a variety of industries. I loved hearing about the Savannah Bananas minor league baseball team and how they embraced being different. I think my next road trip will be to Georgia to catch a game!
Action Items
Get Different is not simply an entertaining tale of business tactics. It is more like a marketing masterclass. Each chapter includes Action Items with corresponding worksheets so you can document your own marketing ideas and track the results. I’m sure you could pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for a business course or mastermind group with similar information. But if you are like me, ordering a book for $26 is a much better deal. Please use my affiliate link to order your copy right now.
Quilts Get Different
Are you thinking, “Andi, I am just here for the quilts. Show me some pretty fabric!”???
I have an example that brings quilting and the Get Different concept together. As you know, I wrote a book about monochromatic quilts. Monochromatic literally translates to “one color,” but it doesn’t mean just one fabric. In order to make that one color quilt more interesting and actually cause people to sit up and take notice, you need to use a variety of tones and choose fabrics in a range from light to dark. And then Get Different – add a zinger that is either a contrasting pop of color, or just a slightly different shade than the main color family.
Case in point, the Two by Two pattern (from AnglePlay the Easy Way) would be lovely in blues.
But it is stunning with a little bit of teal!
I can’t wait to see your quilts! Time to Get Different!
Buy the book now.
