The Nobody’s-Here-Party Method

Most people get stuck fighting for a sliver of the same, tired pie. They’re clawing over each other in what business nerds call the red ocean—bloody, competitive, predictable.

But here’s the thing: there’s another ocean. One nobody’s swimming in. No lifeguards. No rules. No sign that says “No Marco Polo after 10 p.m.”

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In Dumbify terms, that’s not just a “blue ocean.” That’s you sneaking off to throw your own party in a place nobody thinks to look—an abandoned roller rink, a treehouse in a Home Depot parking lot, the ice cream aisle at 3 a.m. It’s so far from where everyone else is elbowing for space that they can’t even find you, let alone compete with you.

When to use it

• When you’re stuck fighting over scraps in a played-out market.

• When “winning” means being just slightly better than 300 identical things.

• When you’d rather be weird-famous than invisible in the crowd.

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Pro Tip: The weirder your location and premise, the harder it is for anyone else to follow you there.

How to do it

Spot the Red Ocean
Find the place where everyone is fighting to be “best” in a category that’s already overrun. It’s the polite way of saying: “This party sucks.”

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Leave Without Saying Goodbye
Instead of trying to beat them, leave. Walk straight out the door.

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Find the Nobody’s-Here Spot
Look for an audience that isn’t being served—or a way to serve them that’s so sideways, it doesn’t even look like the “real” thing.

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Throw Your Own Party
Create something that delivers crazy value in a way nobody expects. The more it makes people say, Wait, you can do that?, the better.

Example: Cirque du Soleil

In the 1950s, the circus was a predictable loop of elephants, clowns, and trapeze acts, bleeding money while fighting for the same dwindling audience. Cirque du Soleil skipped the “more lions, more clowns” arms race and invented a circus for adults—no animals, heavy on the artistry, and priced like theater. They didn’t just compete better; they left the competition behind entirely.

Problem

By the 1980s, the circus was a dying act. Audiences were shrinking, animal rights protests were growing, and every circus was clawing for the same tired audience with the same tired tricks—more elephants, more clowns, more three-ring chaos. Margins were thin, costs were high, and the “red ocean” was bloodier than the lion trainer’s laundry.

Model Approach

Instead of trying to be the best circus in the red ocean, Cirque du Soleil left it entirely. They scrapped animals, ditched the traveling carnival vibe, and built something new: a circus for adults. They blended acrobatics, theater, live music, and surreal storytelling into a completely different experience—closer to Broadway than Barnum & Bailey. Ticket prices went up, costs went down, and the audience completely changed.

Results

Cirque du Soleil exploded into a global phenomenon. They didn’t just dodge competition—they made the competition irrelevant. By owning their own “nobody’s-here party,” they attracted a new, more affluent audience and turned an aging, low-margin industry into a high-profit cultural powerhouse. effective motivator than punishment​.

Why it works

✓ No competition, all spotlight.

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✓ You set the vibe, make the rules, and choose the snacks.

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Competition is exhausting. It’s also boring. When you decide to play in a place no one else has claimed, you get to make the rules, set the vibe, and serve whatever weird snacks you want. You’re not fighting for attention—you are the attention.

Tips for applying

👉️ Spot the crowd — Identify the spaces where everyone’s already competing and ask yourself if you even want to be there.

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👉️ Look for the empty room — Search for audiences, niches, or needs that nobody’s addressing—or that everyone’s overlooking because they seem “too weird” or “too small.”

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👉️ Make it yours — Design an experience so distinct and specific that it couldn’t have been made by anyone else.

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👉️ Raise the drawbridge — Once you’ve built your weird blue ocean, keep it unique enough that copycats can’t easily follow.