Business Basics: How To Figure Out Your Sweet Spot
Today, I want to talk about "sweet spot", which is basically understanding the sweet spot of your company. Once you figure out your sweet spot, you'll stay focused in on what makes the most sense for you and for your team. You won't get distracted by other things that are going on around you and you won't pursue opportunities that don't make any sense. Instead, you'll be locked in on what you really do well.
What Are You The Best At
In order to figure out your sweet spot we look at three things, and the first is what you are best at. Or, what are you best at in your niche, community or region? You really have to lock in on what are you are really really good at. What are we best in the world at? Take a little bit of time to think about what that is, and you'll know a little bit via feedback from your customers. But think about it, what are you best in the world at? What can no one really compete with you at?
What Are You Passionate About
The second thing to look at when figuring out your sweet spot is what are you passionate about? There should be an intersection there. We're looking for an intersection between what you are best at and what you are passionate about because if I'm really good at something and I really care about it, then I should likely be passionate about it as well.
Can You Make Money
The third item to consider when figuring out your sweet spot is knowing how to make money at it. If I can't make money at what I am doing, I'm not going to be in business very long. When I talk about knowing how to make money at it, I'm trying to break that down into a single factor that we can really lock in and think about because it can transform how you do business.
An Example
A number of years ago, Walgreens used to think about themselves as a drugstore that provided drugs and pharmacy-related items for its customers. I think it was back in the 70s when they changed that model. They said, "You know what, we're going start looking at profitability per customer visit instead. We have all these people coming through the store. In additional to pharmacy services, let's provide photo-finishing services, food, office supplies and household supplies." They started expanding that so that when a customer came in, it was also like a convenience store, or even a mini-Walmart if you think about it.When we think of Walgreens today, we don't think of them as much of a drug store as we do a convenience store that sells pharmaceuticals. When they changed that model, it made them much more profitable. It made them focus in and it fit with what they were good at. And you know, even today if you look around, you might just think that Walgreens could be best in the world at that.So what is it for your business? What's that single factor? Is it revenue per customer relationship, revenue per visit, revenue per contract? You need to think about that and try to find what it is. It might just give you some additional inspiration as to how you can structure your business further in order to marry together what you're best in the world at, what you really have a passion for doing, and that understanding on how to make money doing it. When you can find the intersection of those three things, you have hit your sweet spot.Thanks so much for visiting. Check out my other videos for more ideas on how to break through and reach the next level in your business. And, if you like this video, please subscribe.