I met an interesting person today. I didn’t ask him about sharing our conversation publicly, so I’ll use a fake name. I’ll use my first name, Joe.

Joe’s running his own IT business. It’s a small business, and it’s growing. We only spent 30 minutes talking. I wondered what I could share that might be useful.

Joe did make an interesting comment about consulting or business-help firms out there. He said the focus was always on more clients; how to sell to more people. He doesn’t need to sell more. He’s got the business. What he wants is to be a better run business himself. He’s right. I can think of a couple of consultants, and they are more focused on getting more business, making more money – not so much the mechanics of running a small enterprise. I have heard of EOS, Entrepreneur Operating System. I don’t have any first-hand knowledge, but it was recommended highly from someone I trust.

The first thing I recommend surprises me. Joe has to say no. Say no to nearly everything. If the dog hunts, keep it. You can waste so much time chasing the next new technology idea or system. He doesn’t have time or the energy. How is Joe going to balance operating with exploring? I’m a big believer in exploring new ideas. This is where salespeople might be able to help. Joe will need to put boundaries on this also, but he can expect a good sales team to help him stay informed of good ideas.

I highly recommend Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande. Dr. Gawande is a surgeon in pursuit of perfection, not for his ego but to save lives. The book explores the use of checklists. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

I think it’s important for Joe to know where his business fits, and I believe he does already. I’d share a diagram to help drive the point home. Think of a square with narrow to broad on one side, and low price to high price on the other side of the square. Where do you fit? Are you low price to a broad market like Southwest? Are you high price to a narrow market like a specialized law firm? Joe has found a niche with small medical offices, and he’s not charging much compared to competition in town, so I’d say he’s narrow focused and low price. There isn’t a right or wrong answer. The key is to realize you can’t jump the boundaries. Southwest can’t figure out how to be high priced to a narrow market, neither can McDonalds. Remember Budweiser’s attempt to have a high-priced beer? Or other airlines trying to copy Southwest? Didn’t work. Never does, so Joe has to keep to his home court – narrow focus and low priced. Dance with the one you came with.

Keep life simple. This is an extension of saying no. Stick to the few services that you do well. Find new clients if you need to grow. If you add services, you can lose your focus. I’m not saying 100% no. I’m just saying be careful. Go very, very slow on adding new services.

Joe has to control expenses. If his expenses grow, he’ll have a very hard time being low priced and still making a profit. Also fits with saying no.

The last thing I say is Joe needs vision for his clients. Where is he taking them? They are all starting at different points on a scale of technology maturity, and what is Joe’s vision of maturity. I think he has an idea, but it isn’t written down yet. We both agreed it starts with backing up and security, and were does it go from there? If Joe has a vision, then he can sell the outcomes to the clients. He can say this is what life will be like when you come with me.

I’m glad I met Joe today, and I’ll recommend his service to any small medical office I know. It was a good day. Thanks