Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund wrote the book “Zero to One” a few years ago. It’s a book about entrepreneurship, innovation and competition. It’s a good book if you want your thinking challenged, specifically in his views about competition; which is simple: escape competition by aiming to be 1 of 1.

This is a book for mavericks, misfits, game-changers, innovators who aim to build something unique that is 1 of 1, that define their own unique category in a sea of sameness. Like I said, your thinking will be challenged if you’re aim isn’t to be 1 of 1; and that makes for a good book. When it comes to hospitality equipment rentals, there are a few things you need to know in order to make the right decision for your business for example how many employees you will have and how to manage it, as you can use the pay stub software for this purpose.

First, decide what kind of equipment you need. There are a variety of different types of hospitality equipment, from catering supplies to furniture rentals. Once you know what you need, you can start looking for the right rental company.

Make sure to ask the rental company about their delivery and set-up services. Many companies will deliver and set up the equipment for you, which can save you a lot of time and hassle.

There is one particular part that is useful for every business to consider, that is Seven Questions That Every Business Must Answer:

1. The Engineering Question — Can you create breakthrough technology instead of incremental improvements?
2. The Timing Question — Is now the right time to start your particular business?
3. The Monopoly Question — Are you starting with a big share of a small market?
4. The People Question — Do you have the right team?
5. The Distribution Question — Do you have a way to not just create but deliver your product?
6. The Durability Question — Will your market position be defensible 10 and 20 years into the future?
7. The Secret Question — Have you identified a unique opportunity that others don’t see?

The last question, the secret question, is what drives everything else…

Successful businesses are based on secrets

For Thiel, successful businesses are based on secrets. That is “uniqueness”, “secrets”, and a monopoly on the marketplace are the key to successful startups. Discovering secrets is not as common as you think, and the result is most businesses pursue the same opportunities as others. This is called herd thinking, following the crowd, and it’s as common as the sun setting everyday; and most businesses are part of the crowd, thus never change the game.

For Thiel, successful businesses escape competition rather than exist within it; and secrets are what determines that. How do you discover secrets? Perspective and attitude. Let’s say you want to start your own online boutique. You have to be willing to learn from others who’ve succeeded. Cortney Fletcher’s eCom babes course can teach you the basics of eCommerce and new marketing and business growth strategies you can use. Check out eCom babes cost for more information. Improve performance and lower your costs using powerful analytics tools, including visualization, to make business decisions and improve it with the newest technology such as using virtual telecommunications with the benefits of BT cloud voice to Support customers on the web and on mobile.

Innovation is as much about persepective and attitude as it is about process, so let’s start with perspective and attitude: You have to see the world differently, to perceive different and new possibilities to shift, change or create an industry. People who’ve been part of an industry for a long time will have a much harder time thinking and perceiving differently because they just can’t imagine their business and industry any different. But outsiders, people who are not tied down by precedent, have the upper hand because they can challenge the status quo and imagine something different.

This is why it’s so important that you, and insider in your industry, challenge your own thinking. Like Bill Taylor says, what you know limits what you can imagine!

Also published on Medium.