When I decided to start my business, I was scared to death.

I was leaving a lucrative job at CBS and my income was going to take a drastic cut. I would lie in bed at night and think, “I have to find a way to make this work.”

During that time it wasn’t unusual for potential clients to contact me and say “I’m looking for someone to do X. Can you do that?” And of course, I would say yes. 

I would say yes to everything! 

You need social media? Sure, I can do it.  

Direct mail? I can do that too. 

Signage for your building …. sure! 

The problem was that I needed the money, so I took any work that came along. That meant that I didn’t identify and go after a specific client, or focus on specific work. 

To this day I believe that was the biggest mistake I made in my business because I was sacrificing the long term gain for the short term payoff. It wasn’t until I really defined my target customer, and refined my messaging that my business started to take off. 

Don’t try to be all things to all people.

Instead, figure out where you can add the most value and focus your time, talent and energy there. It might mean that you turn some business away, but that’s ok.

Not all business is good business.

Good business is business you understand and are completely confident that you can execute at a high level. That’s the type of work you want. Let the rest go.

About the Author: Meg Huwar is a small business marketing expert and Principal of Brand Accelerator. She and her team work with companies who want to market their business but don’t have the time, experience or staff to do it themselves. Meg can be reached at mhuwar@thebrandaccelerator.com or 412-848-8822.