Hone Your Edge, Stay Focused

A common hazard faced by new entrepreneurs is a lack of faith in
the power of their offer. Many business people lose focus because
they are worried they won’t generate enough cash flow from their
core product. They attract potential customers with outstanding
expertise but then muddy the water by trying to sell anything
those customers want, regardless of how it fits into their
business plan. This is confusing, both for the customer, who
doesn’t really know what type of business you have, and for
yourself. Here’s how to stay on track.

Many business people lose focus because they’re worried they
can’t generate enough cash flow from a small group of products or
services. You attract potential customers with your outstanding
expertise but then muddy the water by offering anything those
customers want, regardless of how it fits into your business
plan. You lose focus. If you don’t focus, you won’t have the
knowledge you need to help your customer. You need to solve
problems and offer a complete solution. You can only do that well
in your area of expertise.

Losing focus sets you up for failure. If you can’t solve your
customers’ problems, your business won’t earn a reputation as a
good resource. This applies to any type of business. Imagine that
you offer computer accounting services. You are an excellent
accountant; you have a good reputation and an excellent rapport
with your customers. If your customer needs a new computer,
chances are they will ask you if you sell computers. Lose focus
and you may be tempted to say yes. After all, you know
computers... you use them all the time for your computer
accounting business.

However, while you may use computers in your business, you are
not necessarily an expert in the computer retail business. You
may not know the best wholesalers. You’re not equipped to deal
with repairs. You probably won’t make money selling the computer
after you invest all the time necessary to learn how to do it
properly, and the time you invest takes time away from your
already successful business. What’s worse is that a customer
dissatisfied with your service won’t tell other people not to buy
a computer from you, she’ll tell them not to deal with you at
all.

If you lose focus and try to be all things to all people, you
will not be as successful as you could be in any business.
Successful businesspeople tell you to focus on what you do best.
Master your business and give your customers value. If your
customer comes to you looking for something that is not part of
your core business, refer her to someone else. In fact, you could
even make a deal with another Web site and have them refer
customers to you as well.

Affiliate programs do exactly that. In the end, you serve your
customers better and they will continue to value your advice,
your products and services. There are ways to offer more products
and services to your customers and increase your cash flow
without losing your focus or diluting your brand. Let’s look at a
concrete example.

Marie-Lynn and I were talking about a new business she wants to
set up. Marie-Lynn is interested in mobile entertainment systems.
In fact, she’s looking for a DVD player for her car. She often
travels by car with her husband and daughter, visiting family in
other cities. Her daughter is now old enough to ask the dreaded
question, "Are we there yet?" She thinks it would be interesting
to get a VCR or DVD player for her car to keep her daughter (and
husband!) quiet and entertained.

Doing some research, she quickly realized there was a business
opportunity here. Buying a car that has a DVD player included
costs about $10,000 more than average because they tend to be
luxury models. That’s a bit expensive for a DVD player! She
looked for places that sell kits for DVD players, much like the
kits you can get for car stereos. She found there were very few
stores that would add a DVD player to a car, and she couldn’t
find any "do-it-yourself" kits on the market. She was sure other
people were having the same problem.

As we discussed it, I agreed this was a perfect business
opportunity! I pointed out that this was a high-priced,
high-margin product with relatively low shipping costs.
We base our business strategy on establishing relationships
with our customers and we can do that best with fewer customers.
After all, we’re not trying to be a Wal-Mart or a Dollar Store.

It had the advantage of being a product that requiring a good
deal of expertise. Which DVD player is best? Which models fit in
which vehicles? There was even potential for information products
like plans for customizing older vehicles to accept a DVD player.

Imagine the long-term potential for offering DVD movies that play
well to a traveling audience. Marie-Lynn will be able to warn her
customers about movies with car crashes and high-speed chases
that may give the driver a nervous breakdown, and she can
recommend movies that keep her own daughter occupied. Moreover,
whom do you think her customers will come back to when they
change vehicles? As we talked, we both became excited about the
possibilities.

I was convinced "DVD Players for Your Car" could be a perfect
application of the Ride the Wave philosophy. Then Marie-Lynn also
told me her research showed her that mobile and wireless
networking products were selling well now. Everyone wants an
always-on Internet connection, and more and more people have
multiple computers in their house that they want to network
without drilling holes and running wires.

She was thinking about starting a business selling mobile and
wireless networking technology and she would include the
"DVD Players for Your Car" business with it. After all, there
isn’t any type of device more mobile than a car, is there? She
was worried she might not sell enough car DVD players to make a
profit and mobile networking was a high-end market and there
weren’t many people doing it. She was also worried that she might
not have the expertise people were looking for when it came to
DVD players... after all, she didn’t even have one in her car
yet. She was still shopping!

There’s a good chance many of you will have the same experience,
though not necessarily with DVD players and mobile networking
products. You will have doubts about your idea and doubts about
your expertise. You will worry that you won’t make enough sales
of one product and you’ll be tempted to add other products to
your online store. I’ll tell you the same thing I told Marie-
Lynn.

Don’t lose focus! The "DVD Player for Your Car" idea is
excellent. It would only get lost in a "Mobile and Wireless
Networking" Web site.

Remember: Your brand, your business name and its reputation, is
your most valuable asset. Your must build and protect your brand
over anything else. Your brand will be the true secret of your
success and the source of the long-term security of your business
and your income. Think of your brand as your position in the
hearts and minds of your customers. Where are you in the hearts
and minds of your customers? Remember your business strategy and
you have every chance of success. It’s easy to get distracted and
lose your focus. Stay on track!