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This is BobParsons.me.
And now, Dr Bob Parsons!

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Hi, I'm Bob Parsons. Here with Reva, and a very special guest, Marina from HotForWords.com.

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Hello Bob. Hello my dear students.

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This is episode 28 of Dr Bob's video blog.

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Before you start a business, or continue with your existing business, you must determine if you have the most important ingredient to the success of any venture.

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Do you know what that special ingredient is?

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Hmm... unmitigated, shameless, ruthless ambition?

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Looking good in a Go Daddy tank top?

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Not exactly. The single most important factor. The thing that will ultimately determine your success or failure is edge.

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Did he just say edge?

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That's right Marina. You have to find your edge. But it's easier said than done.
There needs to be a reason why your business will succeed over similar businesses you compete with.

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And it could be anything. Anything that gives you a significant competitive advantage.

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Better. More relevant. More functional. Or unique product.

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Lower prices.

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Superior customer service.

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More effective marketing.

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Here are a few quick case studies that could help you find your edge.

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Convenience can be your edge.

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The first business I started was a division of Lease America. We leased copy machines. At that time, leasing companies had local offices with local representatives, and took several days to give credit decisions, and then several more days to pay their vendors.

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It was a slow process, with a slow delivery.

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To develop an edge, I did business over the phone from a central office, gave credit decisions in 4 to 6 hours, and paid vendors by wire transfer.

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My edge was a business model that facilitated quick decisions, quick payments, and quick delivery.

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Now compare that with the competitions outdated and sluggish business model, and it's no wonder that the end result was Lease America's quick rise to market leader.

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Low prices plus volume can be your edge.

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My second venture. This was started in my basement, was a software company called Parsons Technology. In those days, software was expensive, service was poor or non-existent, and product usually took several days to ship.

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At Parsons Technology, my edge was incredibly low prices, same day shipping, and the best phone support in the industry.

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At that time, that combination was rare in the software business. Some would say it still is. That edge resulted in Parsons Technology growing to 1,000 employees, roughly $100 million in revenue, and a market share of 4% of the North American software market.

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Outstanding customer service and smart marketing can be the edge that super charges your growth.

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Now GoDaddy.com is where all the lessons I learned in business came together.

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The edge I used with Go Daddy was very similar to what worked with Parsons Technology.
We have really low prices, the best service anywhere, and the widest product line.

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Add to that a great brand and incredibly effective marketing and you have a company experiencing extraordinary growth.

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This edge has resulted in GoDaddy.com, which sold it's first domain name in November 2000, jumping ahead in a very competitive market, to be by far the largest company in the category with more than 35 million domain names under management, and 7 million customers.

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And now, the big takeaway.

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So here's the bottom line. There is no way you can be much of a success at anything if you don't have some sort of an edge.

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So if you don't have an edge, or know what your edge is, take the time to find it or create it, and then put it to work. Do this, and your success is pretty much guaranteed.

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Well that's a rap for this episode. If you have any comments or questions, please post them here. I read each and every one of them, and I'm always interested in what you have to say.

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Marina, thank you very much for stopping by and helping us out.

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My pleasure Bob.

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See ya next time.

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Bye bye my students.

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During my life, I've assembled a collection of 16 rules, most of them I learned the hard way. These rules helped me in business and my personal life, and hopefully they will help you too.

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Today's rule, #14. Solve your own problems. You'll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you'll develop a competitive edge.

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Mr. Ibuka, co-founder of Sony said it best, "You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others".

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There's also an old saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this, "A wise man keeps his own counsel".

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Want more Bob? Follow Bob on Twitter. Search DrBobParsons.