Trying to please all results in pleasing none

Reflections on Branson Centre Foundations Course - Session 2


To view Foundations of Entreprenuership Session 1, click here
To view Foundations of Entreprenuership Session 2, click here


One aspect of being an entrepreneur that can be both a blessing and a curse is that you are your own boss. Nobody is breathing down your neck, reminding you of deadlines, wielding the big stick of disapproval if you don't complete a task on time.

You're in a position of power. On the flip side as Peter Parker's grandpa tells him "With great power comes great responsibility."

If you've set a deadline or committed to a task - then you're the one that has to make sure it's done. When you're in the early days of your business, it's tempting to try and take on as much as you can. You'll do just about anything to hook a sale, sometimes skipping steps like assessing your ability and the capacity of your business to take on the job.  While this approach may work in the short term, it's a sure fire way to set yourself up for burnout.



So there - now you've read my disclaimer for why this blog is being published 5 days late! I wanted it out on Thursday, but the week/ end ran away with me! Unfortunately it is too often the case with those of us in a creative industry. We're great at the creative stuff - but we suck at administration. I could have just left it, but I'm working on developing the habit of doing the things I've committed to as promptly as possible. Better late than never. 

So lets go!

Words I read recently (wish I could remember where though to I could reference it properly!)
"When you try to please everybody - you please nobody."

One of the things that stood out for me in Session 2 of Branson Centre Foundations of Entreprenuership is that you need to be very clear about your market and your product. The more defined your different market segments are, the easier it will be for you to decide on the approach you need to take to identify and ultimately meet the needs of that segment. One size seldom fits all, and if your product or service offering is trying to cover a broad market, your client may well find another supplier that caters to their unique needs.

As part of answering the questions "What am I selling?" and "Who am I selling to?" we were given the task of finding out what our immediate competitors were up to. Sure, as an entrepreneur you're "academically" aware that there are others selling the same product/ service - but you're so busy trying to keep your head above the water that proper competitive research somehow slips to the bottom of the priority list. I got some good ideas from how I can tweak the service our company offers by critically evaluating where our competitors were doing things better (or worse) than we currently are.

I don't have a tertiary qualification, but I'm pretty sure that I'm benefiting a lot more from the Branson Centre business training than I would have from any business degree. Why? Because it I'm already running my own business, and I get to plug what I learn straight into a real enterprise - where there is a really possibility of both failure and success.