3 things that are just good business

Just Good Business

If I have to listen to Peter Jones explain one more time how business is about making wise choices (it’s about being Sage…) I think I may irreparably explode all over Twitter. As such, I thought I’d put my energy (read ‘rage’) down in black and white instead.

There’s no shortage of people all over platforms like LinkedIn queueing up to offer you their extremely worthless insight into how to start an amazing business, how to run an amazing business and, almost without exception, how busy they are being successful talking about amazing businesses that they probably don’t have.

Sage’s new slogan may well be a catchy way to dig itself out of the software silo it rested in for too long and show that it’s new, shiny and online just like Xero, but its new brand ambassador can’t seriously be advocating the message that being the wise old owl is the key to business success.

Here are three things that, I hope you’ll agree, are just good business!

Risk

Anything worth doing involves an element of risk. Weighing up what an appropriate amount of risk should be taken is, of course, key, but at the same time there are plenty of big names out there who built their businesses on a series of red-or-black roulette bets. Pivot to the opportunity and then decide how many chips to put down.

Differentiation

It’s not about being first and it’s not about being the only one, but if there’s more demand out there than supply then whatever you’re offering is immediately more valuable. Even buy-em-cheap stack-em-high businesses have to differentiate themselves in one way or another or risk being gazundered by someone who has managed to squeeze razor thin margins just a little bit more. Product and service is typically the key differentiator, but brand is what defines the market and creates longevity.

Visibility

Understanding the finances is blissfully easy these days, and this is where our dear friend Peter has a point, even if he’s making it by being a bit of a corporate sellout! Unless you’ve found something so niche that it’s printing money faster than you can spend it, you’re going to need to base your decisions around risk and differentiation on some solid numbers. Is your decision putting the whole company on the block? There’s no right or wrong answer, save that you should know the answer. Take risks, but know exactly how big a risk you’re taking.

Next time you hear Peter chirping on about business wisdom, take a deep breath and remember that all the business owners out there know and understand that being wise isn’t the half of it. Then crack on with what you’re doing and, just maybe, come into the studio and have a chat with us about what you’re up to!

Ben is a business leader educated in multimedia and design, Ben gets the need for investment in the creative arts to result in real-world performance. As an advocate of automation via digital platforms and a forward thinker he believes in an iterative and collaborative approach to solving problems. Find out more on Dodgems and Floss