Focus vs. Business ADD: Why Sticking to Your Core Business is Crucial for Long-Term Success
Okay, so today we're gonna talk about something that might touch a few people's nerves. And no, that's not my intention. I only come to this topic from a place of love. But we're going to take some time and talk about a little bit about Business ADD-the culprit of far too many business failures.
And yes, yours truly was also guilty as charged. Let’s hop to it. Oh, and…
Full disclaimer: I get that ADD is a real and serious condition. I am not making light of this, but rather showing parallels and overlap in what some business owners face throughout the course of ownership. Also, if you’re here reading this, you probably know me and what I’m all about and being a insensitive isn’t one of my primary objectives, and honestly? The phrase tracks.
The Nature of Entrepreneurship: Innovating and Chasing the Next Big Thing
By nature entrepreneurs are innovative. We are all creative, (even if you're not in a ‘creative’ business).
It takes a whole hell of a lot of gumption and creativity to envision what's possible and then go out and make it real.
So because of our baseline nature, it's very difficult to stick with the same thing and do it over and over again, year after year, decade after decade, forever. Our nature is to innovate.
So what do we do? We think of new service lines, we think of new products, we think of new stuff to actually occupy our time instead of the everyday grind. It's one of my favorite things to do– to build something new and then go after making that thing real. And that's awesome.
However, that is not the best plan of action to take if you want your business to grow.
The Negative Impact of Business ADD: Declines in Success and Cash Flow
When you lose your focus, you lose your edge and that results in very real negative long term impacts on your success of your company.
Because really: your company is equivalent to a needy toddler and it needs your focus and your attention all the time, not some of the time and a TV babysitter isn’t an option.
The minute you take your foot off the pedal and your focus of your business, you will be in decline. It might be gradual instead of swift, but as we mentioned a while back, stagnation is the same as dying in business and you can’t afford it.
You need to be in charge or you need to put somebody in charge to run it for you. It cannot run itself - it is not the Terminator.
We all have this tendency as entrepreneurs and business owners, and we have to rail against it to be successful. There's always going to be the temptation of what’s next, but avoid shiny object syndrome. Chasing after everything that's possible, equals nothing been done very well AND executed to the best of its ability.
The Power of Focusing on Your Core Business: Competitive Advantage and Profitability
One thing most business owners want is to be profitable and sustainable. It’s the reason they get up in the morning and it’s the goal they are striving for. That’s all well and good and it’s even more reason to avoid Business ADD. Because:
You'll never be as profitable as you could be if you simply focused on one boring thing and did it at the absolute best of your ability for a really long time.
Because what happens is, you will very quickly become an expert at one thing. And you will know that one thing better than anyone else which makes you an authority. And expert authorities - you guessed it - make more money.
You can charge more for your service and if you get bored - which you will - you can innovate on the business you already HAVE and make improvements. You don't have to go out and start a new thing, but more on that later.
What does this look like? Being able to focus means that again, you can build your knowledge and skills that make you even more valuable to your clients. If I've been building websites for 10 years, I have way more skills that are marketable and easy to sell than someone who's been doing it for two.
This also means that I'm probably more efficient at building websites because I've been doing it for a long time, right? Similar to even just starting out with kids: you can change a diaper way more efficiently at year seven than you did that first time, which by the way – was a total embarrassment.
This gives you a distinct competitive advantage in the open market. This means that you can charge more, you are worth more and it's valid because you are the best at what you do with time-tested results.
This is super important. Don't lose your edge.
It makes it so much easier to sell things.
Also, let's not forget the number one reason you have a business that's made it this far: it generates the cash flow you need to stay alive. It has proven that you have product market fit and that you have a thing that people will pay for. This is no small thing. Don’t lose sight of it in the chase for something untested.
Strategic Expansion vs. Chasing Shiny Objects: Aligning Innovations with Your Vision
There are always things to optimize and innovate in your existing business. It's so so important to stay focused on it and it's so so hard at the same time but it makes all the difference. When it comes to innovation in our existing businesses. It's important to be strategic. So when I say you can innovate in your business, what does that mean? Right? So there is a distinct difference between strategic expansion and chasing your tail and others tails after every opportunity that's provided to you right. So this is where having a strategic plan is key. This is where having a vision for your company is key.
Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Goals: Building a Sustainable Business
Recently a good friend, Amy Jacobsen, posted something worth stopping the scroll for. The summary of her epiphany was this:
I just started going after things. Going after them not realizing I don't actually want them and I didn’t chose these things.
I don't want to get this big.
I don't want to do X, Y and Z. I was doing so much on autopilot.
This resonates with me especially because in the beginning, you’re in the past of Grow, Grow, Grow (yes capitals). Then it’s Scale, Scale, Scale. But at some point, you might be doing okay. And what then?
It’s hard to shake the mindset of “okay, it’s really not feast of famine anymore-we’re really doing it!”. Celebrating success and most importantly: REST is non-existent in so many businesses.
We need an abundance mindset not a scarcity mindset to succeed in business, but we also need a clear plan to begin with so we CAN celebrate those milestones as we hit them and rest accordingly.
Having a vision that is current is critical to separate what you’re doing from what you NEED to be doing to reach that next step in your business you yearn for.
Take a sec and review some of the things you’re spending time on in your business. Make sure that if you’re expanding, if they fit into the bigger picutre they’re not just things you doing that “feel like what you should do”.
Ask yourself (after you remove “should” from your vocabulary):
Are we moving in the right direction?
Do we want a team of 30 people or do we only want five forever?
Is efficiency important or do we want to do things differently here?
There's no right or wrong answer. It depends on you and your goals. But it's important to zoom out and figure out if you are making daily decisions that are tied to a big picture vision or a short term temporary feeling.
Creating Space for Clarity and Reflection: Rest, Travel, and Big-Picture Thinking
Okay, so to recap:
We know that we need to tamp down as much as possible on the urge to run towards shiny objects and chase after them.
We also dove into the value of staying focused even when it's flat-out boring and to innovate in our existing business instead.
And lastly, short term decisions take you that much farther away from the long term plan: we need decisions that align with the goal-not just the moment.
Real talk time: Steering businesses forward and not in circles is tiring.
If it was easy, everyone would do it.
This is the hard stuff that occupies all of our waking hours and I get that. Sometimes it's so hard to get the clarity and space that you need. We've said in the past: book the conference, and take the trip. It's worth it for the clarity that you experience when you are out of your day to day. Tuning out the daily grind makes creativity more accessible and easier to cultivate.
Maybe it’s a monthly calendar reminder to reflect where you block your time free of meetings. Maybe once a quarter is all you can manage. But take the time to step back and objectively look at your business.
Do you need to start a new business or are you just burnt out and not taking enough time away?
I often feel like I’m only a little white space away from reconnecting and refocusing on my business. And when I want to run away, I really just need some time away from the grind of it for a bit.
So here’s to you: keep going, you’re doing amazing, and as much as you can just stay in the path because it’s the easiest, quickest way to scale that mountain we’re all climbing one step at a time.
