Beach, Beer and Business
What an evening! It’s warm with a great breeze rolling in over the Atlantic Ocean. I’m comfortably sitting on the beach, watching the surfers, and drinking a refreshing cold beer.
There are two groups of surfers. One, is a group of five that seems to spend way more time sitting on their boards than surfing. They are bobbing up and down and going wherever the tide take them. Group two has two surfers, one male and one female, who are riding the waves beautifully. They are actively moving their positions to catch the surge of the wave before the wave develops. They seem to catch all the big waves and ride all the way to the beach. From my perspective, they are having a great time.
Perhaps the two surfers are just lucky. Is it just luck that they happen to catch the surge of all the best waves. Maybe, these two surfers make their own luck. In business, the same thing happens. I’ve been in the entrepreneurial trenches for over 30 years and when it comes to growing a business, luck is entirely within your control. Great companies spend time and consistent effort positioning themselves in front of their industry’s surge. When they catch the surge, they can ride it to remarkable growth.
The Marketplace is like the waves. Constantly changing. Trends change, customers shift demand, and even whole industries change. Technology accelerates change and sometimes disrupts the market. The key to growth is to position your company in front of the best waves of change then ride them to the end. As the saying goes, “timing is everything.”
That’s what a friend, client, and business owner is doing right now. He is presently in the middle of a surge. For over a year, he has been positioning his company in front of a large wave that is changing his industry. When we met for our July (1 to 1) meeting he reported a $800,000 increase in profits over the first half of this year. Our revenue goal was to reach $20 million dollars by 2020. Now, our projections changed. We will reach $20 million in revenues by the end of 2018. Sorry, I can’t tell you what he is doing because we want to ride this wave as long as possible. Unfortunately, business is a journey and not a destination. You never arrive. This wave will not last forever and we are always looking for the next market change.
Skype is a company that positioned itself in front of two marketplace surges. Skype launched in 2005 as a web-based alternative to making costly international calls. This initial surge helped grow the company through 2009. Then customer usage more than doubled. Skype caught the surge of people turning the camera on themselves. In 2006, Apple Computer built cameras into their laptops. (Before that, people bought a camera that attached to their computers. They were a little awkward.) Soon all Apple’s competitors included cameras with their laptop. Since people buy computers every three years, by 2009 business was booming. Skype rode the wave all the way until 2013, the year they sold to Microsoft for $8.5 billion.
What’s the change coming in your industry and how can your business better serve the new wave forming? Make sure you clearly understand your niche and what differentiates you. Most companies strive to be better, not different. The best-selling business book, Blue Ocean Strategy offers an excellent analogy. If you strive to be better, you are swimming in the “red sea” saturated with competitors. When you strive to be different, you are swimming in the “blue ocean” with little or no competition.
Most entrepreneurs are visionaries. They can picture what they want and because their purpose or mission drives them, they easily formulate a plan. Results are delayed when they try to implement their plan. Running their businesses gets in the way. To simplify, the process of Think, Plan, DO, goes off track with DO. Most people, not just entrepreneurs, have trouble implementing or doing.
Let me help you get started identifying your marketplace surge. Look for the change coming in your industry. First Google trends in the _______ industry (market.) Fill in the blank with your niche. Next Google history of ______ and put in the niche you are focusing on. Talk to the experts in your industry. Ask, what’s changing? What do your customer’s want and need? Where’s the next wave? Yes, do it now! At the very least, identify your niche and write what makes you different.
Back to enjoying a refreshing cold beer on the beach. Maybe my niche should be meeting with my clients on a beach while we both enjoy a refreshing cold brew. (iced tea for those who don’t drink?) It’s different…. One issue might be that most of my clients are in the Pittsburgh area. Is there a venue in Pittsburgh that offers the same experience?
Thank you, Kristina, for asking me to write a short article for the Chamber. Members, if you don’t like the article please send all complaints to Kristina. If you want to try out my new niche, let’s meet, talk business and enjoy a cold refreshing beer. I’ll bring a picture of the beach.
To your success,
Jay Duquette
Jay Duquette and Associates - Personal Business Mentoring helping powerful groups of business owners focus on the business drivers that grow companies.