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Article:
Hone Your Edge, Stay Focused by: Duane Gordon 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 wont 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 doesnt really know what type of business you have, and for yourself. Heres how to stay on track. Many business people lose focus because theyre worried they cant 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 dont focus, you wont 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 cant solve your customers problems, your business wont 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. Youre not equipped to deal with repairs. You probably wont 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. Whats worse is that a customer dissatisfied with your service wont tell other people not to buy a computer from you, shell 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. Lets 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, shes 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
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