I got home from Canada on Monday, drove to Vermont on Friday, returned on Saturday. Then, I flew to Phoenix on Sunday for a meeting on Monday, and returned home late last night. It feels good to be home. I only have one more trip on the calendar in the foreseeable future – I’ll be spending a week in Colorado in early October. Paul and I will be going to a family reunion in Estes Park, and then we will spend a few days traveling around the Rockies. The following is an example of what I call the “Entrepreneurs Dilemma”.
I was in Vermont visiting Eric at school. Here is a picture I took of him during dinner.
He is doing well this semester. Enjoying classes and having fun. Southern Vermont is beautiful, and I’ve been enjoying getting to know it and all the wonderful restaurants there.
Too Many Choices?
After our wonderful dinner, we were both amazed that we woke up hungry so we went to seek out a meal. Brattleboro has quite a few breakfast options, and I left it for Eric to decide where he wanted to go. We walked into a restaurant and looked at the menu; he turned to me and said, “There’s too much on this menu for me this morning. It all looks good, but I don’t feel like figuring out what I want.” We left and went to a different restaurant that had a smaller and equally delicious looking menu.
I’m sure by now you’re wondering what this has to do with you. I speak with business owners every day who try to do more. Many of them tell me that they need to do more to be more competitive. They want to add new programs or products. Or, they need to meet every possible need of their customer.
Remember what Eric said to me when he looked at the menu of the first restaurant – it was too much. It was too complicated. He wanted fewer choices.
Oftentimes, simplicity is better than anything else. Take time to consider the different things you can offer your customer, and then decide which one or two things you want to focus your attention on. When you’ve made your decision, focus all your efforts on it.
What you’ll find is that your clients will be very clear on what you do and who you do it for. They will be able to look at your menu and to decide you are exactly what they want.
What can you simplify? How can you make it easier for your clients to understand what you have to offer? Let me know by commenting below.
This was a eureka moment for me. I run an online-only local newspaper, and we try to be all things to all people. Maybe I should quit doing that! But will I lose advertisers, which are my sole source of income? I’m sure I will lose readers, but if they are not the ones I’m writing for or to, why should I care? HMMMM. I have some thinking to do!
Hi Mary Alice,
When you try to be all things to all people you completely dilute your message and advertisers won’t be interested in you because you don’t have an easily defined base. Glad this was helpful to you!