Becoming A Category of One Series: #1 Don’t Dominate, Play In Your Own League

I'm Kinsey Machos your host and founder of the category queen. Welcome to the podcast for coaches, consultants, and course creators who don't just want to dominate their niche, but they desire to play in their own way. My mission is to help you unlock the power of your unique brilliance, and use it as a vehicle to gain recognition, reach more people and make more money. Not too long ago, I took a bold leap, leaving behind a six-figure corporate salary, with nothing more than a US MacBook, and a burning desire for more freedom. Today, our brand has become globally recognized helping 1000s of female founders to become industry leading experts. Join us each week as we go on a journey together to discuss mindset, marketing, and money. More importantly, the real life discussions about balancing success with motherhood and marriage. Because we're a community of women who build and scale impact driven businesses, but do it without sacrificing the things that matter most to us. Welcome to the category Queen show. Hello, my friends. Welcome back to the show. I'm so happy to be here with you today. I am currently looking out my window and we are in a total snow globe right now is really beautiful. Actually, we've already had a snow day, which I'm surprised today isn't a snow day, but I'm kind of glad it is not. And we had a really dry Christmas, we haven't really had much snow. Until now. So in typical Idaho fashion, we go from one extreme to the other, literally overnight. And it's always full of surprises. So it really is beautiful. I'm cuddled up here in my office, I have my heated blanket on my lap, I have my beanie on and I'm ready to pour into you. I'm excited about this new series that I'm going to be rolling out over the next few weeks with you in relation to becoming a category of one. Obviously, this is something that I'm so passionate about. It really was the core reason why I wanted to shift my personal brand into the company name brand into the category queen. Because I believe that when you master this principle, in so many different facets, which I'm going to uncover today, you will unlock so much more success, not just in your business, but in your life, it really is a journey of knowing who you are at a deeper level, bringing more of that into your business into your marketing, and leveraging your unique brilliance to make a difference in the world. But from a strategic perspective, there are some things that have to be considered and that have to be done in order for this to work. And I want to start to unpack what the key pillars are in becoming a category of one what that actually means if you don't really resonate with that, although I would imagine, you're here you do. But also what this is going to look and feel like in all areas in your content in your offers in your overall messaging, and how this is going to impact your future, the future of your business, the future of your life. And so I'm really excited to spend a little bit more time than just one episode to unpack each of these core elements with you and really hope that from here. In each of these episodes, you will have really key tangibles key action items really to walk away with and implement right away. And if you need help, obviously you know where to go. This is the work we do inside of the category Queen school. This is the foundation of success and with where the industry is going and how fast it's growing. I believe this is actually the most important thing to master before you do anything else. And it's not a you know, stop and learn. I don't I will never be the person to tell you that you need to be more ready or do more things before you can go out and be successful. But it does need to be top of mind. It's something that you continue to fine tune over time as you continue to grow and become more calm. Put it in your own expertise. And it's something that if you can even understand conceptually will just serve you so well, when you start to really see the noise grow and expand online over the next few years and, and beyond, right? Literally, it can feel like the industry is already so big, but it's growing by the second. And so six months, one year, a few years from now, it's going to look totally different. But at the end of the day, what you have that nobody can take away from you, is your unique brilliance. And that is the very thing that you will build your business around. And it's likely what you already are building your business around, we just want to go deeper with it to really make you more magnetic, you're already magnetic, I just want you to see it for yourself and bring more of that to the market. So let's talk about becoming a category of one and what it means to not, quote unquote, dominate but to play in your own league. Okay. So when I was starting to really position, even the category Queen brand and what I wanted that to mean, and how I wanted people to feel I was doing some market research and having some conversations with some peers in the industry. And I would have the feedback in relation to Oh, you help women dominate their industry. And that word never really resonated with me, I think domine is also very masculine. And yes, like, there's that masculine side of me, if it's like, we're going to dominate the world in 24 hours or less. I know my clients can resonate with that. But ultimately, I don't really feel called to help people dominate, what I do feel called to do is helping them play in their own league. Because when it comes to being a category of one, it means that you don't need to dominate because there's no competition.

There is no comparison. And there's no need to feel like you have to even trample over people to create success. And I think that in an industry where people are actually starting to get really loud and obnoxious about what you should or shouldn't be doing. And also a little bit combative. You know, I'm seeing a lot of content around like, if you're doing this, it's wrong, or even just shaming, shaming people shaming other people shaming other marketing strategies, and, you know, I will throw rocks at things that do not work. But I always want to do it from an elevated energy, and not in a place of shaming people. And I've noticed that this is starting to get really I don't know if it's just that I'm in a different energy these days. And I'm and it's just kind of triggering me a little bit more than it used to. But I have noticed that lately, it's just louder, and people like it. But I don't think the right people do. I think that people like you and me, we want that safe space to really be who we are and not feel shameful about it. And if you're like me, I want to create content that really activates people from a place of positivity and opportunity, not a place of shame or fear. And in the category of Clean School, we talk a lot about this in the messaging, in that you're constantly using pain points or fear based language to just continue to agitate fear. You're gonna get people that want to be saved, and you don't want the people that are not ready to save themselves first, right? You're gonna get the desperation. Like people, you know, years ago, I would get people that were like, You're my last lifeline or I've just been through so many coaches, and I know that you're going to be the one and that sort of made me feel uncomfortable. Right? Because it's like, I'm not here to save you. And I think for you, you're not you are helping people out of their suffering 100% And you will, you're helping people solve their problems. But when people come to you out of desperation, that's never a good fit. Because when people are consumed by fear, and lack already, they're going to have a really hard time moving out of that too. Get the results. But again, there's frameworks and programs and courses and all the things for people that are in every season of life. So and it can work. But what I want to really point out here is that when it comes to this idea of dominating, I think that what's happening is people feel like they need to really shame other people and shame other things in order to rise above the noise. And that is just not true. And I want to be the voice for you, when you are wondering if you have to do that, too, right? To get noticed, or to get seen. And you can remember that no, you don't, because I don't do it. And I'm very successful. Okay. And I think that over time, again, more and more people are going to really just get kind of tired of it, I know that they already are me hearing it all over, right. Some of my peers even messaging me and just saying things like I am so drawn to your content. And because it's not falling trap into how these other industry leaders are doing it. So I just want you to know that you don't have to do that. And so when we go back to dominating, again, I'm just trying to help you see that that's actually not the purpose of becoming a category one, what it is to do is to carve out your own space, so you can feel the spaciousness and the freedom to play in your own league. Because when you're playing in your own league, you're not worrying about what other people are doing, or what they're pricing their offers at, or feeling like you have to copy in order to be successful, or like they're stealing your best clients. There's none of that. And so what I want to unpack today is what that looks and feels like. And then over the next few episodes, in this series, we're going to go into more strategic level conversations about thinking like a thought leader, how to position yourself as the go to what that looks like to elevate yourself and your message. And you are going to glean so much from this, but I want you to start here in really understanding what this means. So you can really feel excited about it. Because I do believe that the people that do this right are the ones that will over time, gain the most traction, and also be true to who they are and not feel like they have to sacrifice their authenticity, or even, again, sort of do things that are not ethical, right or aligned with their values. So I'm really excited about this. I hope you are too. But let's talk about let's talk about becoming a category of one, and what that might mean. So first of all, I want to share this concept with you, which I know that I've shared before on the podcast regarding blue ocean red ocean came, I learned this from Russell Brunson, who also have learned it from the book, The Blue Ocean Strategy, which I ended up reading, it's very, very, very strategic level content around positioning and they're really talking to more, you know, corporate, you know, large scale companies. And but I what I want to help you see is that these concepts apply to all sizes of businesses from just getting started and to all the way to, you know, 789 10 figure businesses positioning is the thing, right becoming a category one is all about positioning, and we're going to talk about that in the next episode. But what I want you to understand is how this applies to you, and how we can kind of scrub out that corporate language, so you can understand it and make sense of it. I think that I have the gift of obviously marketing, right? It's literally by I just am obsessed with it. I love marketing positioning offers messaging like I it that is my unique brilliance, but also behind that is the business savviness I practically grew up in corporate, I lead large skill, you know, initiatives, I really, really had to learn the corporate lingo. And so I've been able to infuse that into my business in the way that I want to and the way that that aligns with me, of course, I'm leaving all the other corporate stuff behind. But I know that and we hear this from our students and our clients that's not necessarily natural to you, business marketing, those things just do not come natural to the majority of you, which is probably exactly why you're plugged into this podcast. And so I want to make it easy to understand but also to equip you with that knowledge because if You're a business owner, you have to understand the fundamentals of business. And it doesn't have to be overwhelming. And it doesn't have to evoke any sense of fear, it should excite you. And so when we start to think about positioning, and category leadership, what that really means is how you are showing up in the market and how your market is perceiving you. And so when we go back to Blue Ocean versus red ocean, it's a really great demonstration of what you're seeing in the market today. And how we want to get out of that. Okay, so how they describe this is that the red ocean is where all the sharks are swimming. And so if you go fishing, in a red ocean, you're competing with sharks. And it's called a red ocean, because all the sharks are feeding them the same fish. And so it creates this, of course, like bloody waters, which is so morbid. And I say this every time I'm like, I cringe just a little bit because it is a little morbid, but it's, every time I share this, I get feedback from people, just with like, that is so helpful. And so if we can just get past the, the the gross sort of morbidity of it, then we can understand also even how you might be feeling like that right now. Right? In that you're trying to compete with all these other people. And it just feels like this noise and clutter. Okay. And if you think about the analogy, if you tried to go fishing in a red ocean, you're not going to get any fish, and you're just going to be staring at a red rose ocean came. But a blue ocean is where nobody is fishing, the sharks are not there. And when you go out into that beautiful blue ocean, it's quiet, it's serene, and you catch fish, which makes it fun, okay, and that blue ocean is what a category of one is. Nobody else's swimming there, nobody else's fishing there.

There's nobody else to compete with. And also, it's more fun, because you don't have to worry about what everybody else is doing. So that's what I want you to really consider. And that's what we teach you inside of the category Queen school is what is your blue ocean? What is your category of one, and that really, when you think about playing in your own league, wouldn't you rather do that, then, quote unquote, dominate a red ocean? Right? There is no need to dominate. And again, that word doesn't really do the nervous system, I think of any service. And so this playfulness, and sort of this spaciousness of your own category of your own ocean, if you will, gives you so much room, so much room to breathe, and also so much more room to make money. And so when we think about red ocean versus blue ocean, in the context of even our industry, some examples here of red oceans would be like health coaching for women. Okay, that is very, very broad, and also very saturated. If you think about that umbrella health coaching for women, right? Very big, very broad, and you will have everybody competing in that space, it will be hard to get noticed, it will hurt, it will be hard to get seen. And it's going to be hard to scoop up your right clients came another example, business coaching for entrepreneurs, big broad, executive coaching for leaders still very big and broad, what is a leader, right? What is even executive coaching, life coaching for women, again, really big and broad, if you think about even the life coaching space, so read, so saturated, okay? And if you think about who, right the women, right? What does that even mean? What type of women and so I hope you can see sort of what I'm getting out here in these examples of red oceans in our industry. And it really is when people stay really broad and ambiguous with their niche. And so when we go back to what is that look and feel like to start to kind of move back over to a blue ocean or move over to a blue ocean if you've never been there before, right? And consider how do we stand out what does that look like to play in my own league within the health coaching umbrella within the business coaching umbrella, etc. Now, I'll tell you one of the things that I learned from Russell Brunson. And is that there's three big money making spaces. The most lucrative industries in the market today are health, wealth, and relationships. Okay? So good news for you, it's likely you fall in one of those. And it's great, because now you know, you have a lucrative industry. However, at the highest level, each of those are red oceans. And so what we want to do is carve out your tiny, tiny little blue ocean within one of those. And if you aren't sure which one of those you're in, that is your first step in creating your category of one, you have to get clear. Now, of course, you might fall into more than one category, health and wealth, maybe health and relationships. But you have to pick one, right? So for me, obviously, I'm in the wealth space, because I help people build businesses and make money. Of course, the impact that they create in their, in their life or in their business impacts their relationships, it also impacts their health, but I am staying consistent to the wealth category. And so if you find yourself even what wavering there, that's your first start in niching, down, and then category Queen school, that's where we start, because I find that a lot of women can't even commit to one of those three. Okay, so that is the first step is committing to health, wealth, or relationships and going all in, and then we're going to start to move down. And when you think about a category of one and playing in your own league, part of it is knowing you, a lot of people want to start niching down and go right to their expertise and what they might be able to help women do or even right away start to plug themselves into an AI help statement. You know, a lot of times people will be like, What do you think about this I help statement and I have no context of who they are what they do. And so it's really, really difficult to provide feedback on that. And a lot of the eye health statements that I read are dry and boring. And it's because it really strips women of their unique brilliance because they don't know it yet, you guys are so close to it that you don't see it for what it is. But that's the very thing we need to unlock and bring more into your category of one and use it to further position you as the go to expert. And so we use these examples, you know, health coaching for women, when we start to narrow in, we start to really think about where are their opportunities to get more specific. And there's three elements here is the who it's the what, and it's the how. Now, you could literally spend, I could spend, we have a full workshop on this very thing at the time of this recording, we don't have it up right now. But it will be coming. Just to help you in this arena, the who, what, how, okay, the positioning piece, because this is where it really, it creates the most confusion and overwhelm. And I think that people spend so much time here and it's not necessary, it is important. But if you're trying to do it on your own, and you're getting stuck, I recommend really, really trying to get help here. This is again, the first step in the category claim school. Because this drives everything else, it's going to feed into what your offer should be, it's going to feed into who your premium client is, it's going to feed into your content, your sales strategies, etc. You have to know what your category of one is, and who it's for, what it does, and how you uniquely bring that solution to the market. And some of this, it's not cookie cutter, it's very unique to who you are as an expert, and what your mission is, what your purpose is, what your story is, and how that's translated into your profitable niche. So when we think about these elements, I want you to think about who specifically do you want to serve? is it's not just women. It's not just leaders. It's not just entrepreneurs, where can you be more specific in who you're trying to target? You've probably heard before, but I'll say it again, when you're trying to reach the masses, you reach nobody. Okay? So a lot of people feel constricted when they quote unquote, are trying to niche down. And what I find is instead of actually niching down, they just add more colorful words to their positioning statement. That is not the point. The point is to actually niche down and there's so much resistance here because of the feeling of leaving people out or feeling like You're getting too narrow. But I promise you, I promise you, if you think about all the great leaders in the industry today, they're known for something. Even if you think about Facebook, Starbucks, Netflix, Amazon, they all started in a very, very niche market. They didn't start where they are today, which is a little bit more broad. Right, Amazon started as an online bookstore. Facebook started as a social networking for Harvard University. Starbucks started as a niche coffee bean retailer in Seattle. And Netflix started as a DVD rental service. Okay. Those that is why they gained the traction they did is because they took a stands for something now, if you think about even leaders in our industry, right, Amy Porterfield, what

is she known for courses? John Lee Dumas, what is he known for? Podcasting? James Wedmore, what is he known for business by design, like, you can really start to see the patterns here. And there's, it's really, really interesting to, or it's interesting in how many women do themselves a disservice by trying to be like, or have the success like industry leaders, but not willing to do the things that they have done, which is niche down. So you have to be willing to take a stance for something and someone, okay, it's who you're serving, specifically, what their scenarios are, what you're helping them do, what their problems are, and then how you're uniquely solving it. When you blend the who, what, how that's how you define your category niche. And that is how you start to accelerate your notoriety. I'm telling you, when I was in, I think, I think, both maybe before right after I walked away from my corporate job, I started to get recognized by media outlets, I had not, I had not reached out to anybody I had not. I didn't even know what that process looked like. But when I started to get contacted by people, it was because I was so consistent and so specific in my messaging. And it was, I was like, relentless with it. And I believe that even financially, I was able to hit six figures in under a year. Because of that, I was starting to get referred by people that didn't know me, and other Facebook groups, like you, the people I never worked with, were shouting me out in different communities. And I started that is when I started to understand that, that works. When new people start to connect you with something and someone, that's how you accelerate your success online, it's not about doing more, it's about doing less better, and really doubling down on your expertise in your category of one. When you try to compete with the rest of the noise online, it's going to feel hard. It's really just nearly impossible. And you might look even at some of the people that are a little bit more broad in their messaging. You know, I think of like Mel Robbins, I mean, she gained notoriety from her book, and also started speaking on stages. And right now, if you go to her messaging is pretty big and broad. And it is messaging for the, you know, the masses. But that's not how she started. And that's not how she gained her notoriety. And if you came up, if you showed up with that same messaging, it would fall flat, it would, it would fall flat, you have to do your due diligence here and be relentless in helping people see who you are, who you help, and how you help them. This is the foundation to everything other than your mindset, of course, which we're going to talk about also and how to think like a thought leader, because a lot of what's blocking you even from creating your category of one and committing to narrowing in. It's all about the thoughts you have it. And so we're going to talk about that in the next episode. But this is where it starts, what would it look and feel like to show up using your most authentic voice and stepping into your fullest potential, and letting that be the magnet of force for people to come to you. And when you can do this, it's going to feel so much more fun, because it's not about who's doing what better or, you know, competing on price will I have a lower price than her or I'm doing it better. It's it's not even honestly about quality anymore. I think that you will see that, you know, quality of products and services has to be there. When it comes to people becoming aware of you. It's the potency in your message. And that does come from working with more people and building that confidence and starting to really real We elevate that social proof. But you have to start with you, you have to unlock more of that. You are the niche? How can we bring more of you into that? It's not about a fancier I hope statement, it's not about a flashy, you know, real hook. So none of those things people buy people, people don't buy products. So let's build a category of one around you. And match that with your best match client. When you blend these two things, that is where the revenue starts to accelerate, because we do want to get you known. And we want people we want you to magnetize people, we want people to come into you in your ecosystem. But we also want you to make money. And so part of this process is also identifying that person who is your best match client who's going to pay you, we don't want to just build an audience full of people that just want to watch your videos. Okay? I tell the story all the time. But I have a girlfriend who has hundreds of 1000s of followers on Instagram. And she came to me she's like, I need to make money. Right? So she's built an audience, which is really cool. They Glover, right? But they're not buying from her. So it's really the blend it starts with you. And then we match that with who it is. What is your brilliance? And who is a perfect match for that brilliance? What is the problem we're solving? How are we going to actually solving it? And how can we bring more of your heart and your mind into all that you do? Your content creation, your offer creation, your live master classes, your stage presence, your communities, the world needs more of you more importantly, the market, the industry needs more of you people are getting tired, the same same. And what used to work just doesn't work anymore. But at the end of the day, nobody is you. Nobody is you. And that's what you have to fall back on. So do this work, my friend, and the rest will come so much easier. So your next steps before we go into the next series, or the next episode in this series next week, is to sit down with yourself and look at the who, what, how, and really ask yourself the question What makes me different? What am I most excited about? What experiences have led me to where I am today? What expertise can really amplify this part? What do I want to bring more of into my messaging and my marketing and who is the best person for this message, who is the best person for me to serve. And that's gonna give you a really amazing starting point to lead into better content creation and better money, more money, more impact, which I know is all that you want. So I hope that this was as fun for you as it was for me. I cannot wait to unpack the rest of this series. And I will see you next week. Hey, if you're ready to stand out online and get paying clients consistently, without having to fumble your way through tag, run ads or create complicated funnels. I want to invite you to join us in the category clean school where you're going to learn my simple, proven formula for getting clients online. It's risk free, you either make your money back or we'll give you a refund, Just head over to KinseyMachos.com/TheCQSchool and join today to get instant access. We will see you inside