Stick To Your Niche – Your Business Sweet Spot

More is not always better.

As business owners, we may have a vision of where we want our business to be in a few years, how we can grow to the next level, work with more established or larger clients, secure higher level speaking engagements or train others in our unique model for doing business. While revenue growth and full-service solutions are noteworthy goals, be cautious about straying from what you do best in your quest to meet all of a customer’s needs.

In this article from Copyblogger, the writer, Ankesh Kothari, relays the story of the cartoon Dilbert, and its leapfrog success from low publication rates to huge popularity when the creator of the comic strip narrowed his focus to the workplace setting — his “sweet spot.”

More is always better … or is it?

While the “more is better,” full service model may indicate otherwise, migrating your focus to include ancillary services can be a mistake.

Take the example of talented personal chef Marla. Seeking to grow her culinary business beyond cooking for individuals and private social events, Marla was intrigued when a top executive at a large corporation shared his need for high-end catering for corporate events. His stories about the uninspired food at many of the corporate events he attends prompts Marla to launch into the corporate catering business. The move seems like a logical extension and a way to broaden her exposure and increase revenues.

The plot thickens

So how does the new venture play out? Not well, in this case. Marla is spending less time in her kitchen and more time supervising transportation of the food, negotiating with hotel catering managers about the proper vessels to maintain food temperatures and quality, and haggling with executive assistants over event schedules. She’s having trouble keeping track of all the details for the large events, and her customers are losing confidence in her business. Worst of all, Marla is leaving the actual execution of the cooking to her staff, and the quality is inconsistent.

Expand intentionally — and with caution

So what happened here? In seeking to grow her business to the next level, Marla abandoned her sweet spot, moving from a being an expert in a creative role (food creation) to a rookie in a management role. While some chefs might thrive in the management arena, for Marla, it was not a good fit. Not only was her migration to the next level not successful, but she also hurt her culinary reputation by compromising on her core business.

Does this mean you can’t grow your business? Of course not. But rather than expand into areas which are logically aligned but where you’re not as skilled, reflect on what you do best and find ways to do it better — solidifying your niche, and find more ways to do it — broadening your niche.

Provide full-service solutions by partnering and aligning yourself with business partners who are experts in their fields — and you can all enjoy the sweet results.

This post was previously published on OnlineAmplify.com and has been updated for relevance and timeliness.