Keion Henderson - The Village People

That’s what I want to talk аbout: the Village People. I’m trying to figure out if he was blind or in the blind spot. It takes a village to raise a child, yes, and if the wrong village raises the child, you raise a blind child. I am telling you that your circle and your village have consequences for your destiny. Some of you are struggling to get out of the village, but you will never go any further or see any clearer than your village. Do me a favor: before you sit down, ask your neighbor, «Can you see?» Because I just—I ain’t got time to be blind for the next 50 minutes. I just want to know, can you see? Did they say yes? You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. Let’s talk about the Village People. Yes, ma’am, I’ll do my best. How many entrepreneurs and business owners do I have in the house? Make some noise! Entrepreneurs and business owners, identify yourselves online. We apologize for the drop; we’re back up and streaming right now. I want you to identify yourself if you are a business owner because for the first five minutes, I’m going to be talking to people who know there is an entrepreneur inside of them. There is something in the world of business called a unique selling proposition (USP). Some people call it a unique selling point. What is a USP? A USP is the particular thing that a business or service has that separates it from others in the same industry and thereby gives you, Reggie, a competitive edge. Everybody say USP! USP! Unique selling proposition—it is the essence of what makes a company or a service better than its competitors. Let’s just throw some out there. Um, Nike: how many of you wear Nikes? Anyone wear Nikes here? Here’s their USP: it’s not just «Just Do It,» that’s a slogan. Okay, here’s their unique selling proposition: «Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. If you have a body, you are an athlete.» Okay, how many have seen a Nike commercial? It’s all about inspiration. Now here’s Adidas. Their competition focuses on «developing lightweight and comfortable sports apparel that other competitors cannot manufacture.» So you have one company focused on the athlete, while the other company says, «Okay, you take care of the athlete; we’ll focus on comfort.» If you’ve ever put on some Adidas, there’s no doubt that they are a more comfortable shoe. If you deny that, then you only have Nikes. But anybody ever put on a Yeezy? Just take the flip-flops on their face, but one says it’s okay because that’s our unique selling proposition: we’re going to out-comfort you. See, here’s the deal: if you ever find out what your difference is, you won’t have to make people like you. When you discover what you offer, the people who are looking for it will find you. This is why competition is necessary in commerce. Let’s take another company. How many Coca-Cola drinkers are in the house? Who says Coca-Cola tastes better than Pepsi? Who says Pepsi tastes better than Coca-Cola? You see that? Now the Coca-Cola people are delusional. I mean, Coca-Cola drinkers are like, «What are you talking about?» The Pepsi people are like, «Are you serious?» But they both do well. Let me tell you: Coca-Cola is by far the bigger company, but when you do a taste test, most people will say Pepsi tastes better. So how is the company that tastes better not as big as the company that isn’t? You know why? Because they have two different unique selling propositions. Coca-Cola has found out that you can sell beverages with this USP: «Refreshing the world and making a difference.» People drink it because they subconsciously connect to a company that meets their value standards and makes a difference. If you’ve ever seen the Coca-Cola commercial, it’s a polar bear rolling a ball—it’s not even about the soda! Now Pepsi, on the other hand, has this unique selling proposition: «Convenience—just make sure we’re available everywhere.» Have you ever noticed that you can get a Pepsi in most gas stations? They make sure that they are available everywhere, so that when you are thirsty— even if you don’t prefer them—you can find them. Okay, is this helping anybody so far? Just touch your neighbor and say, «You’re being set up right now.» Listen, I’m going somewhere. Some people who have known me are just like, «Yeah, where are you going with this?» Red Domino’s Pizza, $5 billion last year. Here’s their unique selling proposition: «You get fresh hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less.» What separates them from everybody else is not that their bread is better—it’s that you’re going to get it quicker. Let me tell you something: when people are hungry, they don’t care how it tastes when it shows up. So Domino’s isn’t even selling pizza; they’re selling speed. Come on, y’all help me! We’re going to get there in a minute. Let’s take… oh yeah, this next one is class warfare: Walmart versus Target. Now watch this. First of all, Walmart’s…