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Page 191 GO IT ALONE!
establish metrics that are likely to serve as early warning signals of vital marketplace changes. The almost fanatical customer-centric attitude demonstrated by many of the go-it-alone businesses discussed here is good model for this kind of focus. If customers are thinking about doing anything different that will impact your business, you must recognize this change, and act on it, as early as possible. It also means that you need to take time out to regularly engage in an exercise of what if. Make a list of the things that could seriously undermine your business, from the possible collapse of a central client business, to the loss of an important marketing channel. Paste the list on the wall in your office. Look at it regularly and ask yourself, How do I know these things are not happening? What if this assumption or that assumption is wrong? Is there something else I could be doing to test this understanding? There is one very important distinction between a go-it-alone enterprise and other businesses: Only you can ask yourself the hard questions. There is no one to do it for you, and you ignore them at your peril.
THE NEED TO FOCUS ON MAINTAINING FOCUS
A Frequent Mistake: Attempting to Expand from Focused to Comprehensive Services
One phenomenon that seems to repeat time and time again is the unsuccessful attempt by go-it-alone entrepreneurs with a highly focused service to make the giant leap to providing a comprehensive service. When you expand your offerings, you want to understand—as clearly as possible—the similarities and differences between what has made you successful and what you are considering. You must be particularly cautious about anything that hinders your laserlike focus on your successful offerings.
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GO IT ALONE! Copyright 2004 by Bruce Judson. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
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