It’s actually hard to describe the tremendous power that results from following this seemingly simple rule. In fact, following these precepts will in all likelihood be essential to the success of any business started by an individual with limited capital. Here’s why the 60% Rule is so important: As I started to investigate the capabilities of inexpensive ASP platforms for Speed Anywhere, one element kept resurfacing: I found that each service could typically meet only 60% of my needs. I was also absolutely convinced that if I devoted my own time to the service each ASP was handling, I could easily do it better and probably meet 90% of my needs. However, I quickly realized that this type of thinking was precisely the trap I wanted to avoid.

Yes, I could take on individual responsibilities for specific operations. And, yes I could do this in a way that met my needs better than the inexpensive hosted ASP platforms I was planning to use. However, I was also planning to string together 10 or more ASPs. If I outsourced everything, it might be that each task would be done only 60% as well as I might have liked. However, I would then have a very low cost automated operating system. Most importantly, I would keep my time and energy free to focus on target marketing, which I viewed as the basis of the business’s competitive strength. It was entirely possible that if I focused on target marketing to build my customer base, I would develop solutions that could grow the business by quantum leaps—by 300% or more.

<--previous page

next page-->

Search the complete text of Go It Alone!