How to grow your business and stay focused

On March 9, 2020, I was scheduled to fly to a conference in Peoria, IL. The conference organizers had booked me to speak about farm business management and offer speed-coaching. At the time, it felt like a milestone as I had been working hard over the past few years to establish myself on the “conference circuit.” I was offered more and more paid opportunities to speak at conferences; and I could see this becoming a consistent revenue stream.

The expansiveness of the pandemic was just starting to reveal itself, and everything everywhere (except this conference) canceled. I debated whether I should still attend. Like so many, I worried about what this would mean for my business. If I canceled; I would lose the income… and it might portend what’s to come. I decided to attend the conference.

Certainly, I was not alone in my concerns … In every industry around the globe, entrepreneurs, workers, and business owners worried about their livelihoods (as well as health and safety). For chefs and restaurateurs, businesses were forced to shut down completely, and they had to rethink their business models and how they’d pay their bills. For farmers, many of their wholesale clients disappeared overnight.

For my business, who knew when I’d speak at a conference again? Would my consulting clients be in a financial position to hire me? Would the grant-funding that sponsored other parts of my work evaporate? As a result, if the phone rang (or the email buzzed) with work opportunity, I said “yes.”

I’ve been there before, that place of saying “yes” to everything, whether it matched my business model or not. During easier times, it was a good excuse to explore new partnerships and opportunities. During Covid-times, it was survival.

During Covid-times, we threw the proverbial spaghetti at the wall to see what stuck. With so much uncertainty, no one could afford to say “no” to any income potential. Online ordering? Delivery? Diversified product offerings? In normal times, this spaghetti-throwing would be considered “unfocused”, a business no-no.

Thank goodness, and with gratitude to science and vaccines, Covid has loosened its grip… though our world has change permanently – from missing loved ones to reimagined work models.

As we return to “normal-ish”, it’s worth taking a step back to refocus and reconsider all we said “yes” to. What is your business model? Who are your target customers and how do you want to serve them? I know many entrepreneurs launched new businesses that they’ll continue, but some we’ll want to let go of (like the restaurants selling groceries).

While it’s tempting to continue with all the new offerings (in other words, continue saying “yes” to everything), too much diversification can backfire. When we do too much, our resources are scattered, and the chance of success at any one thing diminishes. When we focus on our core business model (or competencies), we can devote maximum time, energy, and money to ensure it’s well executed.

As you think about refocusing your business, taking an inventory of all the customers and products you offer, and ask yourself some questions:

• Which products/customers are the most profitable, dollar-wise?
• Which products/customers are the most profitable, timewise?
• When you consider adding products/customers, how do you evaluate whether it’s a fit?
• What is the “suckatation ratio” of the different products/customers?

In other words, what will you continue to say, “yes” to; and why?