Short Story at Life InStyle Sydney 2013
Are you trying to offer too many products or service in your business?
Are you trying to offer too many things to too many people too?
Are you trying to be like a variety store? Provide everything? Something for everyone?
If you are, then you are not alone.
It’s quite a common situation in small business. As Business Coaches we see it all the time.
This situation often happens as your client base grows and your business grows. As you encounter more competitors then you start to seek ways to counter their offers, and you try to come up with more products or services in an attempt to widen your audience and to combat your competitors.
We see lots of small business fall into this trap and lose focus on the important factors that made them successful in the first place. They are so distracted with ‘shiny objects‘ that they forget the basics like their own core products, and what they are really good at.
Sometimes this off track situation could happen when the business owner gets bored with the same product and wants to add something new and different.
There’s nothing wrong of course with adding new lines to your range, so long as you don’t lose sight of what made your business successful in the first place.
So do you know the core products in your business?
Some call it your “bread and butter”.
Your core products are the ones that your business can do very well, and do very efficiently. They are also known as your signature products,or the items or services that you are renowned for.
You know that every time you make a sale or finish a job for a customer, you will make money on it and in comparison to those newer products or services which might be sold less often, be harder to deliver, take up more of your time, or with low margin, so you may not always come away with a profit.
Before you spend time on developing new products or services we urge you to do your homework by reviewing your current and core products to see how they are performing for you and your business.
Every business is dependant on core products. They help generate regular income for your business.
Focus on the core products, and make sure they are getting the attention in your business so that it can keep generating great sales. Once you have your core products and services in place then you can look at what the costs and benefits are to adding each new product or service to your business.
By making some decisions about the mix of your products and services, and which ones are worth spending your time and money on, you can go ahead while avoiding the ones that are hassle to produce and that eat up your time.
In small business after all, “Time is money”.
