A fellow who was visiting town dropped by for a visit a while back. He was extremely curious and couldn’t resist coming onto our yard. He was on vacation visiting family in the area. He had been an industrial designer but was looking for a new opportunity. He absolutely loved what he saw in our shop and wished (not so quietly) that he could do something similar. It’s a wish I often hear. I asked him why he didn’t simply do it. His answer was similar to what I hear from most. He felt there was no market - no one willing to pay what it was worth.
His comment made me smile - and strongly disagree. I let him know why.
In my opinion, there has never been a better time to be in business. But it can’t be a half hearted try. It has got to be the very best we can do. It can’t be a business that offers what everyone else is doing. Unless you wish a business that is based on the lowest price you had better think of something few others can offer - a niche market. Modern technology allows us to easily spread the word and get the word out like never before. Modern tools and materials allow us to do things we could previously only imagine.
My visitor was amazed we lived so far from the city- ‘out in the middle of nowhere’. He asked why. I told him we had carefully chosen our location after a lot looking and planning. Where else could we live on a small acreage, surrounded by farmland and yet in the center of a small town with everything we need. Better yet we are close to family, and have gorgeous views that surround us. And we live far from the hustle and bustle of a large city. Our small acreage is big enough for a house, a massive yard and our dream workshop out back. My new friend agreed it was a nice lifestyle. Then I went on…
The internet allowed us to easily present ourselves to the world, to show our wares in an attractive fashion. Our work, spread out far and wide brought us repeat and new business as well. I explained to him how we had, in fact, purposely downsized our business a couple of decades ago, going from a crew of more than twenty to only a handful. We were not seeking to grow our business in a traditional way but rather intent on focusing towards better and better work over time.
I explained that it was a gradual process begun more than four decades ago. I likened it into throwing a pebble in a pond. The splash was small but the rings spread quickly. And if you pick the perfect stone and throw it just right, the rock will skip, bouncing many times as it flies over the water. Instead of one set of expanding rings there will be many. This is exactly how we are growing our business. Carefully planned, highly imaginative projects are the ones we are selecting, taking on and promoting. It is extremely exciting and fun and it beats working any day!
