I was watching golf on TV a few weeks ago (don't say it!) and the tournament was taking place at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.

As the players came up the eighteenth fairway, the camera was positioned behind them and in the distance, was a big red and white lighthouse.

When golf fans see that lighthouse, they know exactly which tournament they are watching.

This particular event stands out - even to peripheral golf fans - because it features something no other golf course on the PGA TOUR does.

In your business, it can make a big difference to your bottom line if you become "known" for something among prospects and clients.

Today's article explains this concept in more depth and gives you some ideas on how to put it to use.

Got a "signature dish"?

If you've ever watched celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey's reality TV Show, "Kitchen Nightmares," you know Gord0's mission is to save a failing restaurant each episode from its owner and staff.

One of his techniques for getting restaurants back on their feet is to help the restaurant create a "signature dish".

Of course, he does lots of other things, from revamping the menu and teaching the chef how to cook better, to training inept managers and cleaning up filthy kitchens.

But the signature dish - a single food item the restaurant becomes known for -- is one of his favourite techniques for reviving a failing restaurant.

And, more often than not, the signature dish, is something simple.

Could be a burger, a salad, meatballs or stone-baked pizza.

In most cases, the restaurant not only gets back on its feet, it becomes known in the neighbourhood for its signature dish.

So what does this have to do with YOUR business?

In most industries today, there is more competition than ever; more companies competing with each other for business.

And with all the choices available, it's difficult to compete by being all things to all people.

A much better strategy is to specialize: in an industry, with a product, a service, a method, a system, a task.

In other words, to have YOUR own "signature dish."

Your prospects want to deal with experts - people whom they perceive as knowing what they are doing.

Since you can't know everything - nor is it credible to claim that you do - the only way to be a recognized expert is to specialize.

If you are a lawyer, you can specialize in real estate law.

If you're a dentist, you can specialize in child dentistry.

If you are a landscaper, you can specialize in ponds with fountains with an artistic flair.

How do you figure out your specialty?

Use the following questions to help you identify a potential "house" special:

- What's in demand? What does the market need?

- What will they pay a premium price for?

- What market niches are underserved? In what specialties is there a crying need for more vendors?

- What education and knowledge do you possess or can you realistically acquire in a short time frame at reasonable cost and effort?

- What niches do you already have experience and successful projects in?

- What do you enjoy doing? What do you have an aptitude for?

- What skills do you possess? What are you best at?

One word of warning: make sure the speciality you pick isn't something that doesn't appeal to you or that you have no talent for.

Just because it might look lucrative or have little competition isn't a good reason to gloam onto it.

Remember the words of Ray Bradbury: "Love what you do and do what you love. Don't listen to anyone else who tells you not to do it. You do what you want, what you love. Imagination should be the centre of your life."

Kitchen's open!