Be the Only, Not the Best
You won't be good when you start, so be the only option instead.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 90%
Dumas argues that when you start anything new you will be bad at it, so competing on quality is hopeless. The winning move is to position yourself as the ONLY provider of a very specific thing, the way the town's single Blockbuster won by being the only option. He launched the only daily podcast interviewing entrepreneurs, so even though it was the worst such show, it was also the only one. He compensated for his lack of skill by bringing on great guests and getting out of their way, then improved daily. Over time being the only became being the best.
Origin
In 2012 Dumas launched a daily podcast interviewing entrepreneurs when nobody else was doing anything close to it. He openly admits his early shows were bad, but because he was the only daily entrepreneurship show, listeners had no alternative, which bought him time to improve.
Core principles
- 01Nobody is good when they start something new, so competing on quality early is a losing game.
- 02Being the only provider of a specific thing beats being one of many good providers.
- 03You can borrow credibility by putting excellent people or products in front of your audience while you improve.
- 04The narrower and more specific the offering, the easier it is to be the only.
How to run it
- 1
Accept you'll be bad at the start
Drop the expectation of being good immediately; nobody is good when they begin something new, so quality can't be your early edge.
Pro tip Reframe 'I'm not good yet' as permission to launch rather than a reason to wait.
- 2
Find the angle where you can be the only
Choose a format, frequency, or niche specific enough that no one else is doing exactly it, so you become the default option.
Pro tip If five people already do it, niche down until you're the only one.
- 3
Borrow value while you improve
Put excellent guests, partners, or products in front of your audience and get out of the way so the value is delivered even before your own skill catches up.
Pro tip Say as few words as possible and let the value-providers shine.
- 4
Ship and improve daily
Release consistently and get a little better every single day until being the only becomes being the best.
Watch out Being the only is a starting advantage, not a permanent moat — competitors will arrive, so keep improving.
In the wild
Dumas launched Entrepreneurs on Fire as the only daily podcast interviewing entrepreneurs. It was simultaneously the best, worst, and only show of its kind, so listeners had no alternative while he improved.
→ The show grew from bad-but-only into a top-10 Apple podcast and a multi-million-dollar business.
Dumas uses the 1990s Blockbuster as an analogy: if you wanted to rent a movie you had to go to the one Blockbuster in town, so it won by default until Netflix offered something better.
→ Illustrates that being the only option drives wins until a genuinely better alternative appears.
Common mistakes
Trying to be the best before you have any skill
Competing on quality against established players when you're brand new is a fight you lose; you have neither the skill nor the reputation yet.
Not niching down far enough
If several podcasts already serve your topic, you aren't the only — you must narrow to a specific pain point until you are.
Is it for you?
Best for
First-time creators, podcasters, and founders entering a space where they have no track record.
Not ideal for
Established players who already have skill and audience and should compete on quality and depth.
From the transcript
“how can you be the only because you're not going to be good when you start nobody's good when they start something new”
“it was the worst daily podcast interviewing entrepreneurs it was the only daily podcast interviewing entrepreneurs”
From the episode
John Lee Dumas: Productivity Hacks to Work Smarter, Not Harder
John Lee Dumas