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Diversify and Multiply

Allow me to ask you a question. What do you think when you see someone running a successful home based business?

When you read of the hard work that has gone into making their success, you probably congratulate them and go back to setting up or running your own small venture, ambling along much as you would any other day. But if you’re like most other people, there’s something else you’ll probably do as well. It might only flit through your mind for a moment, or it might take root there and you’ll end up actually doing it – but you’ll consider abandoning your own venture in the hope of emulating this person’s success.

Go on, be honest. You’ve done it, haven’t you? I know I have. It’s a variation of that old chestnut, ‘the grass is always greener…’ As you can see from the title, this article is about diversification, but not in the sense of changing to what someone else is doing, and I believe this is where some people go wrong when they’re searching for their own successful home business. They think diversification means dropping what they’re doing and trying out something other people are earning good money at.

The tendency is to jump from one idea to another without staying long enough to explore any one of them fully. And the truth is, if they had stayed with their original idea, and studied it closely, they would probably have found all they needed to know to make all the money they wanted.

How? By diversifying.

Let’s consider this further. The businesses which succeed are generally those which have some kind of ‘edge’ over the competition – offering a service, or a new way of doing things which no one else has thought of. The basics of the business are much the same as the competition – as they say, there’s nothing new under the sun.

But the difference is in the way they do their business. And this is why the people, who go from idea to idea, trying to chase the money everyone else is making, invariably fail. They don’t stop to consider how they could find new ideas, new ways of doing things – however small – that could lead them to success in the business they originally chose for themselves.

But how do you find these ideas? And how do you apply them to your current business?

Simple. Lock yourself in a room with a pen and notepad, and think of all the aspects of your business as it stands now. It doesn’t matter whether you’re already making a decent living from your venture or whether you’ve just started out and you’re only making a small profit each month – every business can be improved upon.

Let’s say you’re selling ‘dooberrys’ from your spare room. You’re making a small profit, but nothing you could retire on. Mr Jones, two doors away, is making £1000 a month part time with his new franchise. Anyone would be tempted to swap. But take a closer look at your ‘dooberrys’ first.

How are they constructed? Is there a better way to make them that would cut your costs and give them more than one use? Making your product more versatile like this is an excellent way of diversifying. It automatically opens your business up to more markets. If you’re selling cat collars, you could maybe have them made bigger so you can sell them to dog owners as well.

So much for diversifying into other markets. What about discovering unusual angles, ones that will make people want to buy ‘dooberrys’ from you rather than anyone else?

Think about how well known companies have used different angles to attract more customers. The big name pizza delivery companies have gained more interest (and more customers) simply by varying the pizza bases – making them thinner, thicker, adding extra flavours to the basic dough, and so on. And you can bet their orders went up as soon as they offered money off if it wasn’t delivered in half an hour.

These are simple ideas, certainly. But they work. Don’t be afraid to try simple ideas because you think they may be too obvious. Write down all the things you can think of which could improve what you’re selling, the way you’re selling it, and who you’re selling it to.

Special time limited offers are another tried and tested way of gaining extra customers. A few years ago, a certain well known fast food chain sold a number of burgers to tie in with the Olympics. Each one related to a different country.

Could you vary your service or product to tie in with a national or local event like this? Maybe even a world event? Perhaps you could offer a time limited extra service of some sort? Maybe you could market your ‘dooberrys’ in different colors to appeal to different sections of the community? Luminous colored dooberrys for use at night, perhaps?

Another aspect of this kind of brainstorming is that it can lead you to diversify into other areas altogether. We all know how successful those sticky Post It notes have been over the past few years – first in original yellow, then in all kinds of colors to appeal to all kinds of people. But did you know they were invented by a man who was trying to create the strongest glue he could? Needless to say, he failed – but it was probably the best failure he ever had!

Be prepared to diversify into other areas if your ideas lead you in that direction. But know why you’re doing so. Don’t diversify because someone else is doing it and making good money at it. Do it because your research and brainstorming have led you to realize there are good possibilities there for you.

Following in other people’s footsteps feels safe, but it’s far more satisfying to apply your own ideas to your own business in order to make that your success story. Try it now. If you are positive and persistent, you will never regret it.

by Allison Whitehead