My ten year old scored his first goal of the soccer season on the weekend (complete with an enthusiastic post-goal celebration!). After the match, his coach told us that he had asked my son to be goalkeeper for one half of the match, as he has been asking the coach to do this all season. To the coach’s surprise (and probably some amusement) my son said “No, I’d prefer to be on the field because I want to score a goal today”. And lo and behold he did!

His decision making process was interesting. The coach’s request for him to be goalkeeper would have meant that he still had one half of the game in which to score his goal. But he seemed to think that in order to score, he needed to have a singular focus. And I think he might have been on to something.

Most of us have business goals. We might categorise them into long term and short term goals. We might allocate varying amounts of time to different goals, depending on their importance. But perhaps we are doing ourselves and our business a disservice by focusing on too many goals at once?

You are likely to have learnt via business experts that finding your niche is a vital component for success. I suspect though, that many of us meander along various paths and lose sight of our goals. This may be because we get excited by a new idea and want to explore its possibilities. Or it may be because we are too scared to let go of other options because it feels a bit scary to put ‘all your eggs in one basket’ and lose the ‘safety’ of those alternatives.

But I wonder what would happen if, like my son, we put aside what might seem like great opportunities and focus solely on a singular goal? Harnessing all our mental and physical energies into one ‘thing’ could result in some amazing achievements and previously unattainable goals.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

I am sure you have heard from business experts that your business should be adaptable and versatile. If those experts are referring to being able to quickly evolve to meet changing needs in your industry, then this is good advice to heed. But there are some of us who interpret this as needing to provide a diverse range of products or services in order to gain enough customers.

For example, when I started my graphic design business, there was almost no type of print design work that I would reject. I was doing everything from business cards to wedding invitations and my marketing materials covered pretty much everything I could think of! But I soon found that by narrowing my niche, I gained more clients.

Think about how you seek expertise: if you are looking for an accountant for your business, you are more likely to retain a firm that specialises in small business, than one that focusses on tax for individuals. Or if you were looking for someone to make a wedding cake, you are unlikely to choose someone who creates children’s cakes. You want the experience that comes with the understanding of a specific product or service.

So how do you work out what to focus on in your business? One way to help this decision is to choose the areas that you most like to work on. You are going to be much more motivated to improve your skills and become the best at what you do if it is something you actually like doing! The passion you have for your niche will be evident to clients via the way you promote and the manner in which you engage with them about the product or service. You should combine this with researching the needs of your clients, to find out what they may need. You will begin to establish yourself as an expert, and are likely to find that people are happy to pay more because they know they are getting quality results.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

Most of us know that to succeed in business we need to find a niche. But often other factors take precedence. Many women start a business to work around family commitments, and so choose an industry that is conducive to that, rather than researching possible directions. But finding a niche is essential to long term success.

But how do we do that? What does ‘finding your niche’ look like?

Recently I had lunch at a new local restaurant. When I arrived at the restaurant it was immediately obvious to me that this business has found their niche. It was not that they are doing any one thing that makes them stand out from other restaurants. But they have worked hard to pull together a number of small, but meaningful aspects that combined, are establishing them as a memorable eatery.

What stood out to me was that the business owners have done their research. They have responded to what they know their local community enjoys. A key factor in their success seems to be the experience they provide for people: they have a great ambience, the food is upmarket yet not overpriced and staff are friendly and interested.

As you can see by this example, ‘finding your niche’ does not necessarily mean finding one unique product or service. Your niche can be a combination of tried and true factors. If you are still not sure how to find your niche, just start doing one area exceptionally well. Simply by doing that you will begin rising above all the other businesses who are content to keep doing what they’ve always done.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

Many businesses, whether they are new or been established for a number of years, are committing mistakes that can easily be avoided. Sometimes we are so used to getting the job done that we don’t stop to realise that some aspects need to be evaluated.

One of the top mistakes is not having a niche. So many of us think that if we are ‘all things to all people’ or if we say “yes” to anything our customers ask of us, that we will create more wealth. After all, the wider our target, surely the larger our profit, right? Wrong. It’s been said that if everyone can use your product, no one will. You need to find a niche and focus on doing that one thing exceptionally well. Become a specialist and stay focused.

Another common mistake is expecting a short term gain. The first few months (and sometimes years) can bring pressure to earn money, which in turn can make you come across as desperate (“I really need this sale!”). But your focus should be on building long term relationships with your customers which will sustain your business in the long term.

And finally, many business owners are guilty of not knowing their numbers. You must keep regular tabs on profit, know your costs, how much money it costs you to run your business each month and so on. You also need to generate regular reports on your numbers, so that you can make sensible and realistic decisions about the next steps for your business. This is not to say that you shouldn’t take some risks, but these should be calculated risks based on research of your own financial situation.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender