This post is about market diversification and new opportunities for your business. We will get to that, I promise. First…
I love to try new things. One of the things I have tried more recently is learning to ride a motorcycle… that’s actually my motorcycle in the cover photo for the post- beautiful! I thought that it would be something i would really enjoy, based on some of my other hobbies. I really started to think that it could be a great hobby that i could do for the rest of my life. Plus, I am always looking for ways to look just a little bit cooler for my son. I have been riding for about two years now, and it is quickly becoming an obsession! When I decided that I wanted to learn how to ride, I was very careful about how I approached it. There is a financial commitment that comes along with riding, there was the chance that I might not actually enjoy it all that much, and there is an inherent risk associated with riding a motorcycle. As it happened, right when the impulse to try it finally became irresistible and everything else seemed to align, my wife was also pregnant with our second child. For that reason, the importance of safety and minimizing the risks was at the front of my mind.
I researched and learned a lot about motorcycles: different brands, and styles, performance, power to weight ratios, traffic safety, cost of maintenance. I decided that it was most practical to buy a used, low-price model with a fair amount of miles in order to minimize the initial cost. I also decided on a cruiser model that I determined to be a little easier to learn on, and potentially a little safer than a high performance bullet-bike. Finally, I decided on a size of vehicle that had power, but was still relatively easy to handle and maneuver. I was extremely lucky that my wife was accepting of the idea.I found a good bike for a good deal, and i was ready to ride for right around $2,000. I still remember the excitement i felt the first time I eased on the throttle and started down the road. I was a little nervous at first, but i quickly found that I could handle the bike pretty easily. I practiced riding up and down the street, then in parking lots, then in traffic. I made a decision, at least for the first few years, that the risk of commuting back and forth during rush hour is more than I want to take. I also try to avoid the freeway when possible. You will find me tearing up the canyon in the evening or cruising around town Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon.
Now to tie this into the business world. Most businesses start off by doing one thing. They make one product, or provide one service. You might have a few different colors, or price packages, etc. but you generally start with one offering. Don’t limit your business by only doing what you know you are good at, or have done before. Try new things. Learn new trades. Expand into new sectors. Make a new product. Even if you are part of a larger organization that already has many segments… keep expanding. Don’t miss out on opportunities in areas that you could one day become profitable. There is a smart way to expand. You can start small, minimize your investment and resources that are allocated until you are confident in success. Learn the market slowly, get comfortable with the “road”, until you find yourself ready to expand further in that area.
A great example that comes to mind: Amazon Web Services. In their 1st quarter earnings report for 2016, the company reported that Amazon Web Services sales rose 64 percent to $2.57 billion from $1.57 billion in the prior-year period. Started in 2006, the cloud computing/IT solution has quickly become a major revenue generating division of the company. One of the most significant questions that Amazon has had to answer over the past few years is: How can the company continue to grow at the rate they have? Innovation, supply chain solutions, and new business segments has been and continues to be the solution for the corporate giant.
For more information about AWS:
What other examples can you think of where expanding into a new market has been hugely successful?
Have you personally ever been assigned to “open” a new division or service, or even a store in a new location?
What do you think you might be good at? What opportunities might exist for your organization that you haven’t yet considered?
business confab 
Awesome post. It is very informative and it is really interesting to increase our conversation rate. Thanks for sharing, it will be useful to everyone.
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