Unconvention provides a readable, practical roadmap for small business owners to turn what makes them unique into a competitive advantage against bigger players.

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I typically review fiction here at Fog & Fiction — after all, it’s in the name. But I also read my share of business and leadership nonfiction to keep growing in my career. Today I’m reviewing a nonfiction book: Unconvention by Sri Kaza. This book is especially relevant to anyone building or running a small business. Sri is a former business school classmate of mine who’s spent his career helping small businesses grow, and his book distills decades of experience into lessons that are anything but conventional.

At its heart, Unconvention is about finding and leaning into what makes your business unique, even when it runs counter to industry norms or best practices of bigger companies. Sri reminds us that the very qualities that make small businesses special – like their focus, proximity to customers, and values – can become their greatest strengths. Drawing on data from tens of thousands of businesses and stories of entrepreneurs who weathered crises like the pandemic, he shows how owner-operated businesses can survive and thrive when they stop copying the big players and instead build around what only they can offer.

For small business owners, Unconvention delivers both a mindset shift and practical tools. You’ll find frameworks for defining your unique positioning, building deeper customer relationships, and creating a purpose-driven business that means something beyond just profit. You’ll also see real-world examples of how entrepreneurs applied these principles to outmaneuver larger competitors — not by outspending or outscaling them, but by staying authentic, bold, and close to the people they serve.

Unconvention is ultimately a strategy guide for business owners ready to stop chasing big-company playbooks and start building on their own terms. It’s a reminder that your greatest competitive advantage lies in being different, not in trying to become a smaller version of a big company. That difference might be exactly what your market has been waiting for.