Focus is the Key to a Successful Startup

The definition of a startup means you have very few resources to employ and little time to get them to do something valuable. The clock is always ticking, and the money (if you even have any) is running out by the day. With so little to leverage, you need to make sure that the focus of your company's product offer is as razor sharp as possible.

Don't be all you can be. Be as little as you can be.

Most startup companies fail because they try to be too many things to too many people right from the onset. They think of every possible option they could load into their product offer. While this may give them the feeling of being one of the â??big boys,â?? the grim reality is they are not. In fact by trying to be too many things from the start, these companies often end up delivering no real value at all.

Instead of trying to be all things to all people, try being one thing to all people. Think of PayPal, the highly successful startup that allowed users to e-mail money over the Internet to each other. PayPal could have chosen a million options for their offer. They could have become an on-line credit card company, an auction site, a loan provider and so on. But what made the company successful was their focus on only one offer â?" e-mailing money from one person to the other.

PayPal did one simple thing so well that the industry giant eBay purchased them for $1.5 billion in 2002, even after eBay had already built the same service themselves. PayPal is a great example of a company keeping a sharp focus one doing on thing right even when so many great opportunities could have easily distracted them.

Bite off less than you can chew

Delivering your product to market is an amazing feat to begin with. Even still, a common problem among small companies is their inability to predict what it will take to actually support a product once it has gone to market. Itâ??s easy to conceive complex products with lots of features. But actually bringing that product to market and supporting its use with customers is a whole different story.

Instead of trying to roll out everything and the kitchen sink in your approach to market, just roll out the sink. If you find that you can support your product just fine after itâ??s been successfully selling in the first year, then go ahead and add to it. Itâ??s a lot easier to add features along the way than it is to support features you donâ??t have the resources for to begin with.

You have ten seconds to get it right

Your customer has a life, even if you do not. They are being constantly bombarded with marketing messages from the latest movies releases to the newest type of shampoo. They donâ??t have the time or energy to stop their entire day to focus on just your product. So if you are lucky enough to have ten seconds of their attention, you had better make good use of it. The exercise of developing your value proposition in ten seconds is a great way to distill down your feature set to those items that will get peopleâ??s attention right away. If itâ??s not going to add value to the ten second pitch, itâ??s not critical to your productâ??s success. If you canâ??t get your customerâ??s attention with the one key benefit to your product, the rest of your features will never see the light of day to begin with.

Stay on target gold leader

Your product launch is just the beginning of keeping your focus. Once you have brought your product to market and enjoyed some early success, it may become even harder to stay focused. Now you have customers calling you and recommending (or demanding!) features to be added and services to be provided. All of these distractions make it even harder to keep you and your team focused on a single goal.

Fortunately the process of keeping your resources focused post-launch is entirely the same. You need to pick your battles and allocate your resources toward the few initiatives that will be best served to do the one thing right that is truly driving your company. Serving the needs and whims of every customer sounds great, but it can also be a terrible detour when trying to keep the forward progress of your company moving.

If at any point during your journey youâ??re unsure whether or not youâ??re spending your time and resources effectively, just ask yourself one question, â??Is this driving the core benefit of our product?â??. If the answer is â??yesâ??, youâ??re headed in the right direction.

Wil Schroter is a serial entrepreneur, author, and public speaker. His latest book â??Go Big or Go Homeâ?? will be available in 2005. Connect directly with Wil at wschroter@yahoo.com

---

Does It Really Take Money To Make Money (Online or Offline)? A Reality-Check of 2 Case Studies

The short and simple answer to this question is NO!Now,... Read More

How to Start a Franchise

Franchising InformationFranchise oppotunities are all around us today. You may... Read More

The Danger Of Hate

As you have shown an interest in starting a business... Read More

The Reluctant Entrepreneur

It seems odd to think of a person opening a... Read More

The Magic of Thinking Small

Hey!Many of you might disagree and I'm prepared for that.Many... Read More

Entrepreneurs: Benefits vs. Features-Know the Difference!

Entrepreneurs know their business. They know their product, their service.... Read More

Pre-Money vs. Post-Money Valuation

When a company decides that it must raise capital, a... Read More

Youve Found Your Guru, Now What?

In my last article, "Follow That Guru", I told you... Read More

For Business SUCCESS... Listen To The Voices of Experience

Discover the pitfalls of owning your own business BEFORE... [you... Read More

The Heroic Entrepreneur: Profiting from Your Brilliance

If you look up the definition of hero in Webster's,... Read More

Traits of The Successful Entrepreneur

Want to know why certain people succeed and others don't.... Read More

Message to Prospective Franchisees for Franchisors

Many franchise companies fail to send the proper message to... Read More

Why Every Student Should Start a Business

With the economic downturn, students in all the major business... Read More

5 TIPS for Home-Based Business Entrepreneurs

Have you ever heard that only a small part (5%)... Read More

Everything You Wanted to Know About Public Domain Info, but Were Too Afraid to Ask!

What to Look Out For:Copyright - you absolutely must check... Read More

From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur: Make Money Selling Info Products

The term "Infopreneur" is a relatively new industry buzz word... Read More

How to Become a Successful Entrepreneur on the Web

Becoming a successful entrepreneur in the online world is no... Read More

Entrepreneurs - 9 Top Mistakes to Avoid

1. Isolating Yourself When setting up a business, you can... Read More

Entrepreneurial Excerpt from a Speech to Small Business

Having built a business from a bucket of water and... Read More

The Risks of Entrepreneurship

The "spark" for many entrepreneurs is seeing an opportunity that... Read More

What It Takes To be An Entrepreneur Series: Action

Many people have the professed desire to be their own... Read More

Prescription for the Future and Technological Revolutions

The world sure has changed in the last two-decades hasn't... Read More

Differentiation ? Smart Marketing Strategies for the Solo Entrepreneur

Are you ever frustrated or hesitant when you talk to... Read More

Protect Your ASSets in Business

Many people are starting an online business without a thought... Read More

PR That Entrepreneurs Often Overlook

If that sounds like you, here's what you may be... Read More

Increasing Business BIGTIME with a Successful Referral System

What I've discovered from most of my small business clients... Read More

Find Me the Expert on This!

Many people who set up as consultants never make more... Read More

An Entrepreneur Is

An entrepreneur is an innovator. She sees a need in... Read More

Have You Been Thinking About Owning Your Own Business? Or Becoming An Entrepreneur? Part 1

Almost every day, I talk with people who want to... Read More

Answering Why You, Why Now Critical in a Winning Business Plan

Business plans continue to be an essential element of the... Read More

The Six ?F? Words Every Entrepreneur Should Know

Start your own business, and soon enough, you find yourself... Read More

Your Company Needs A Mission Statement; Make It Count

Does anyone remember that book "Built to Last" done y... Read More

How To Find Focus And Turn Your Talent Into A Thriving Professional Business

There are tons of books and articles available to help... Read More