Tap Into Your Own Talent

The Care And Feeding Of Your Future, Without The Soap Opera Drama And Trauma
Good Improvements | About Us
When I was searching for a career, my dad gave me advice I still follow today: Find what you do brilliantly, and do more of it. Over the years, I've learned that this philosophy enables you to find your niche and discover unique methods to achieve your goals.

As an entrepreneur, you often jump at any chance to expand your business. However, your business's biggest and best asset is you. It's your expertise that makes your business unique and leads to the most efficient growth opportunities.

The owner of a jewelry store frequently updated the gems she carried but was never able to dramatically increase her sales. She thought her clientele might buy a broader line of products, so she added religious statues to her store. But ultimately, her lack of familiarity with these items caused the strategy to fail.

On her second try at expansion, she decided to delve further into her core area of specialization. She bought jewelry designed and made by local artists. It paid off. Her current customers and her new artists spread the word about her updated business, and her store became a shopping destination.

Creating product extensions within your area of expertise expands your customer roster. Increase your chance of success by focusing on what you do best -- and do more of it.

1. Tap into the innate power behind what makes your business unique. Growing your business based on your inherent strengths allows you to discover dynamic expansion possibilities. Use your intuition, and ask your employees and colleagues for help on how to rework or redesign your core product to appeal to a broader market. For the jewelry store owner, it was her expertise in gems that allowed her to sell the stones in multiple ways.

2. Shift from selling to actively listening. Become relentlessly focused on broadening the appeal of your core product by engaging your customers. What new uses have they discovered that may not have occurred to you? Ask them to be direct and truthful, and keep a log of their suggestions. Tapping into this rich vein of recommendations allows you to jump-start new growth opportunities.

3. Convert the benefits customers share into product features. Use the recommendations offered by your customers to construct new uses for your core product. Regularly reinventing your product with fresh benefits keeps your customers interested and excited. It was Arm & Hammer's customers who informed the company of alternative uses for its top-selling baking soda product. The company has now expanded its core product into numerous other uses, including cleansers, deodorizers and beauty products.

4. Gain loyalty by thanking people creatively. Thanking people for sharing their ideas deepens customer loyalty. It also increases word-of-mouth advertising for your business. A sandwich shop owner who was famous for his use of cheeses decided to name his weekly specials after customers who made distinctive recommendations. They brought their friends and families into his store to see their names and pictures up on his "Say Cheese" board.

Keep your network of customers and colleagues informed of your product enhancements. Your enthusiasm will encourage them to tell others about your business. And more important, it will inspire them to share even more product-transformation ideas with you.

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How Old Baby Food Got Oprah's Attention And Led To A Hit Product

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While feeding a baby, Debbie Stephens Stauffer and Kathleen Whitehurst came up with an invention that landed them a spot on "Oprah," an article in Good Housekeeping and a hit new product.

It's a counter. A simple, cute digital counter. In bright iMac-ish colors.

If you've mined moldy leftovers out of the refrigerator, over-fed your fish or killed plants by under-watering, Cupertino resident Stephens Stauffer says you may need it.

Called Days Ago, the tiny, reusable counter ticks off days while it's attached to your leftovers or fish tank by a magnet or suction cup.

Originally, Whitehurst said, the plan was to make something that would keep baby food safe. Families could throw away mushy peas after the counter spit out a certain time — say, three days.

"That's a lot for a busy family to keep track off," Whitehurst said.

Stephens Stauffer, 36, and Whitehurst, 56, had been looking to start a modest business venture so they could work from home.

In June 2005, the pair hammered out the details of their first business plan — what Stephens Stauffer called a "complicated nutrition game for kids" — when Whitehurst noticed the half-eaten jar of baby food while feeding one of Stephens Stauffer's children.

"Hey," she remembers asking her friend, "how do you know when to throw this stuff out?"

Stephens Stauffer opened the refrigerator, revealing jars upon jars of partially eaten baby food. "It's a real problem," she said.

"That's it," Whitehurst said.

After consulting with a friend of Whitehurst's daughter who worked in manufacturing and product design, they launched Days Ago in March 2006.

Before the Oprah show aired, the pair already had filed 150,000 orders. Right before the show "Moms who've made millions" was broadcast, Stephens Stauffer said she realized they needed a 1-800 number.

Although they don't know how much the Oprah appearance helped, there definitely was a huge surge in sales to customers and retail stores afterward.

The two came together after Stephens Stauffer taught a leadership course for a nonprofit in Modesto that Whitehurst's husband worked with.

Stephens Stauffer said she respected Whitehurst's 25 years of retail experience. Whitehurst liked Stephens Stauffer's inventiveness.

When the pair left the Central Valley for the Bay Area, they stayed in touch. Almost two years ago, Stephens Stauffer called Whitehurst and suggested the two should go into business. Whitehurst jumped at the chance.

"So many moms have been coming up with these great ideas," she said.

Stephens Stauffer wanted to spend more time with her children than her leadership development consulting service would allow. She's now expecting her third child. Whitehurst wasn't quite ready to retire.

The partnership has been filled with learning, Whitehurst said.

"We had to find a designer. We had to learn about manufacturing," she said.

Stephens Stauffer adds that they've also been learning a lot from folks who have been buying their product to count the days between good food and bad or tasks.

"Did you know," she said, "that most snakes need to be fed every seven days?"

[Via Mercury News]

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