The difference between diversification and chasing too many rabbits

Have you ever heard the saying "if you chase too many rabbits you won't catch any"? The logic there is pretty sound, no? If you spend too much time chasing odd and varied goals, it becomes really damn hard to accomplish anything with any degree of success.

At the same time, how many times have you been told that diversification is the key to continued success? Sounds like a contradiction, right? The problem with cliche based advice, in any area of your life, is that no one really takes the time to really understand what it means.

There IS a difference between diversification and chasing too many rabbits. A lot of people don't take the time to figure out this difference though.

An example of chasing too many rabbits might be the guy down the street that fixes motorcycles and runs a lawn care/snow removal service. In a situation like that you may have moderate success doing both, but there's no room for growth because there's no room for serious dedication to either one.

Diversification though is a whole other animal. A good example of diversification is the musician who writes, records, and performs music, but finds other ways to make his talent work for him, such as licensing his music to film, tv, or web. He's still working within his field and can fully dedicate to growth and expansion, but is finding other avenues to generate the income he needs to make that growth happen.

It's a fine line between the two, but it's one that we have to find in order to be the best we can be. To grow beyond the normal limitations of our skill or trade.

What can you do to hang up your rabbit chasing ways and diversify?

Content is King!

Happy Monday!

It's a chilly and rainy day here, but I'm not going to let that keep it from being a good day!

Today I've been thinking about content. Whether it's for your website, your social media pages, or your merch box, the content you have is what's going to bring you more fans or clients. What we provide is what's going to be the catalyst for how many people pay attention to us.

I've already talked about my views on quality, but this has more to do with the one-two punch of quality and quantity. We're only as good as our newest offering. People get bored with us is all we have is that tribute album that we produced 11 years ago. Believe me, I know. New product, news, and content is vital to the growth of our band or our brand.

Think about this. How many times have you gone to see your favorite live band and heard the same set? Now, how many years have they been around? See what I'm saying. The bands that survive and thrive are the ones who are constantly churning out new songs, new albums, new merch, and new ideas. The same can be said for small businesses. It's an ever changing environment and we need to grow with times or fold.

Music and small business are very similar. They're both creative endeavors. The question every day should be, "what am I going to make today"?

What are you going to make today?

Ingeniously Genuine

I was out just a little bit ago and saw a bumper sticker that kinda stuck with me. It read "Smile...it confuses people".

My first reaction was a little chuckle because it reminded me of a quote from one of my favorite TV shows, NBC's The Office. There's a classic line delivered by the character Kelly Kapoor (played by Mindy Kaling) that went something like "He's so complicated. Who says exactly what's on their mind?"

The more I got to thinking about this, the more I realized that we, as people, have a tendency to over analyze and over think every situation we're in. We've become so accustomed to the idea that people are going to double talk us, cheat us, stab us in the back, or use us that we often times DO get confused when we see that smile.

We live in a world were Business, especially at the corporate level, is assumed to have an agenda to take advantage of anyone and everyone. So, what can we, as Independents, and small business Entrepreneurs do about it?

I know that my own personal solution is to learn a little lesson from those quotes up above. Smile and mean it and always say what I mean. Treating our connections, clients, customers, friends, family, neighbors, and the security guard at the grocery store with the friendliness and respect that they are due is the best, and surest way to build trust and respect from others.

That's my opinion anyway and I think my plan of action too. I do pretty well being my genuine self. Give it a shot!