Small things can disqualify. For instance, I recall chatting with a comedian who operated on a national level, yet advertised himself as the leading comedian in a small coastal town, far from the action. It sounded quaint and charming. The downside was that it could have put him out of the running for big national events. There was no specific advantage in mentioning an obscure geographical location, but plenty of disadvantage. 

In the same vein, last week I had my website moved. It's no longer at the local 'co.za' address. It's now at .com. It's a small thing, but it matters. 

What small signifiers make your operation look small, suburban, regional or provincial? Do they really need to be there? Could you use more globalised, international labels instead? Or if that seems too pretentious for you, could you at least not use limiting localisers?

Don't advertise yourself as small. From the get-go, set it up so that you can expand into it. When we stop limiting our own potential, we open up new worlds. We position ourselves to become the greatest in our game. 

Douglas Kruger, CSP, is a global professional speaker, who focuses on brand, culture and innovation. He is the author of six business books with Penguin and has won the national championships for Public Speaking, through Toastmasters, a record 5 times.

In 2016, in honour of excellence in his craft, Douglas was inducted into the Speakers Hall of Fame by the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa. In 2018, the National Speakers Association granted him the accreditation of Certified Speaking Professional, a designation held by only 12 per cent of motivational speakers globally.

See him in action, or sign up for his free newsletter, ‘From Amateur to Expert’ at www.douglaskruger.co.za. Email info@douglaskrugerspeaker.com