Ever have a “business epiphany”? Epiphany is a funny term when talking about business. Derived from divine intervention and in this particular usage, it’s meant to signify sudden insight that stems from something simple that perhaps just took a little widening of the eyes and opening of the mind to be able to see.
My team at Studiothink would probably ask how I could possibly discuss just one epiphany, but the one I chose is something I feel tends to be prevalent among entrepreneurs. I would guess that many of my fellow entrepreneurs have shared this same epiphany. My hope is that it didn’t take them quite so long.
The genesis
First, I have an incredible team — people who’ve been in it for the long haul, good times and bad; smart, talented people who have the experience and expertise to execute on the work that I simply sell and envision.
As our company took on more work, our team grew and diversified, and when it came to anything marketing and communications related (and honestly sometimes not related in the least) we said yes, and we did it.
Need a logo design? Our pleasure! A website? You’re covered! Corporate policies and business planning? You betcha! Public relations, content marketing, podcasts, webinars, video, event planning, trademarks, research and writing …
Oh my! I thought the more we handled, the better we’d be perceived. The thing is we lost ourselves somewhere along the way and the vision was blurred at best.
I started Studiothink because I believed we could do engaging creative and positioning work and deliver it through an unparalleled customer experience. Things started out that way and then I realized that saying yes to everything and trying to be all things to all people was creating a “good, but not great” or even worse yet … average customer experience.
The realization
My epiphany was the realization that doing less can mean delivering more.
We have recently narrowed our focus to our core expertise. This means delighting clients in those areas, but also meant downsizing our team in the areas in which we would no longer focus (very hard to do on a small team).
What’s happened is a renewed energy and focus and the attraction of even more work in our core areas. Addition through subtraction? It can happen.
The other thing that happens is expanding your expertise.
By exposing your team as well as your clients to other fantastic people who are truly experts and focused in the areas of marketing and communications that we now outsource you will develop your potential.
In that really rewarding way, our team continues to grow. The bottom line of my business epiphany (at least one of them) is that better and more are not a direct correlation. Better is better, and that’s where I want us to be.
Christine Lobas is the founder and CEO of Studiothink. She has more than 20 years of experience in traditional and interactive marketing, creative direction and public relations. She also serves as communications chair ofr the board of the Cleveland Chapter of the Global Entrepreneurs’ Organization.
