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Ask HN: How to "clarify" your business

1 points by alexpatton ↗ HN
We are undergoing an identity & focus crisis. We know we need to focus, stop being everything to everybody, find our passion, etc.

However, honestly, we are having a VERY difficult time doing that.

We are passionate about a subject, a sector - but we break down after that - what products or services - etc.

Does anyone have a process? I am not talking about:

step 1. find your passion step 2. follow your passion

I am looking for an organized, rigorous process to undertake an evaluation of lines of business, products and/or services that fuel the already known passion.

We have been "in business" for almost 10 years, but are looking to breakthrough, not maintain.

Thanks.

1 comment

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michael_dorfman
If you've been in a sector for 10 years, I imagine you know who within that sector has money to spend. There's no point in going after a segment without money, right?

Once the segment has been identified, I'd then think about the sales process-- how well are you poised to sell to the decision-makers in this segment? Keep adjusting until you have a good fit.

Then, you turn to the final piece of the puzzle: what do you need to do to get these people to put their money in your pocket? What products or services do you need to provide? Generally, this means looking at a problem they have that is currently underserved; not necessarily a problem that no one else is attempting to solve, mind you, but one where you see an opportunity for competition or disruption. Sometimes, this means solving a problem they don't know they have-- if you can find some way to cut their costs or increase their revenue that they haven't thought of, for example.

When in doubt, look inside their organizations for critical processes that are still being done by Excel spreadsheets, and build a better alternative to these.