Traditional business teaches us that the first steps to a successful business – are to
- Understand who your customers are,
- Find out what they want and
- Offer them what they want
But this premise is based on these assumptions
- These are your customers
- These customers know what they want – and
- You know how to give them what they want.
This starting gate advice also has you searching outside of yourself, trying to be something you are not and offering something that you may not be good at. In the hope of being successful.
At the end of this trifecta, you may find that you have stretched yourself too thin trying to please everyone. You may also find yourself wondering what your differentiation is, and worse than that, through this process you may have lost your passion and yourself as a business. Who are you? And what makes you special?
A Conscious Business understands that the first step to a successful business is to understand who you are. Focus on what you are passionate about and great at and offer that!
Just take the North Street Store (in Perth, Western Australia) and their famous cinnamon scrolls as an example.
Urban myth has it that the owner took 10 years to perfect this destination bun and now they sell over 2,500 scrolls per week!
The Beerfarm, a boutique brewery from the Margaret River region, has even used the North Street Store’s cinnamon bun and apple turnover as inspiration for their new beer – Flake It Till You Bake It – a medium-bodied ale.
If the owners of North Street Store were to research me 10 years ago – I would have opted out. I would not have considered myse