Some business owners do one thing really well and they focus on getting that word out. But many businesses owners are multi-talented. They have to be. Especially the solopreneur who, out of necessity, does a number of things well.

This is a true benefit to your customer, especially if they want to deal with one company, not two or three, to get their needs met. As long as you can deliver a product or service that meets or exceeds expectations, you’ll delight those people, building trust as well as saving them time. They say that most people can’t do more than one thing well enough. That’s true. But there are those rare people who can and do deliver in more ways than one.

There’s a problem though.

You’ll often see the words, “we specialize in…,” followed by a long list of services. Aside from the time and effort it takes to maintain multiple skill sets and build enough experience, how will you let others know why you’re different, especially if your competition also specializes in the same long list of services? Sometimes what we think makes us different is not enough for others to think so. We have to connect the dots for them. And the right story does that.

That story might be short or long. It might have multiple pieces that can stand alone or be used together. It might be a metaphor that threads ideas together. It might be a concept or personality that unites all the parts.

There’s another part.

Intentional referrals. People will spread the word about you but they have to know how to retell the story of your business. They can’t memorize your elevator pitch, which is why most elevator pitches are bad. The best referral comes from someone who really understands why you’re different.

There are two parts to standing out—unearthing your individual attributes and then blending them together in a new way. Once you have that, it’s easier for you to sell you and for others to sell you, too.