← Back to Articles

Before You Build Your IP, Do This First. 100x More Useful Than Posting Daily.

Someone spent 300K and still didn't know where their IP was. Here's what actually works.

July 23, 2026 · BeiDa Yan · IP Positioning

Before you write your first article or film your first short video, there's one thing you need to do first. Not "market research." Not "finding your niche." It's: find out which of your experiences can actually fight.

300K Bought a Pile of PPTs

A few months ago, an entrepreneur sat across from me. He'd spent 300K on a "brand positioning system." What he got was a folder of PPTs. His words: "Yan, I read it all. I still don't know what my IP is."

He's not alone. The market is flooded with positioning services. AI generates a report in 3 minutes. Templates fill in the blanks. You get back something that looks professional — and tells you nothing you didn't already know.

The problem isn't the framework. It's that the framework is looking at the wrong thing. Most positioning analyzes the market. But your IP isn't found in the market — it's found in you.

Three Steps That Actually Work

After 15 years of building brands from scratch, here's what I've learned:

Step 1: Inventory Everything You've Done

Not titles. Not duties. Specific things with specific numbers. "Grew regional sales from 800K to 3M in six months." "Trained 200+ store managers." "Wrote the product manual that became the company standard." Write it all. Don't filter.

Step 2: Find What Only You Can Do

Look at your list. Which items, when combined, form a combination that's rare? "Sales experience + content writing + AI proficiency" — most people have one, some have two. Very few have all three. That combination IS your positioning anchor.

Step 3: Say It in One Sentence

Not "brand consultant." Not "IP coach." Try: "I help [specific people] solve [specific problems] through [your unique method]." Read it aloud. If you'd add yourself on WeChat after hearing it — you've got it.

Try this on the IP Positioning Radar page. Free. No signup.

Try the Radar →

Email · [email protected]

ArticlesEmail · [email protected]