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VOICES
The design of business

puts a strain on your resources in terms of time,

attention and money. This is why focus is critical.

The more products or services you add to the

mix, the more time and energy you need to devote

to them and by spreading yourself too thin you run

the risk that all of your efforts underperform. In the

worst case scenario, this can lead – ultimately – to

the failure of the business.

A FOCUSED MISSION

As you plan a product roadmap be sure to constantly

check in with your values and vision, ensuring that

what you are working on remains aligned with your

original mission.

Using your original vision as an anchor, it’s

important to establish an overall strategy with a

clear sense of direction. This vision – drawn from

your values – is unlikely to change over the medium

term and it’s important that you stick to it.

This is where a mission statement, even if you’re

a small company, can help. If you’ve taken the time

to create a mission statement, you can check against

it as you develop new ideas for products. If a new

product doesn’t fit the mission, you know you need

to rethink it.

My focus at Tiny Books (www.tinybooks.org) is

simple: “To help others build better businesses by

providing digital tools for digital entrepreneurs”.

This short sentence, which took a considerable

amount of time to write, is the result of distilling and

defining my mission.

As I work to develop new products, I check back

against it and – if the fit isn’t right – I start again

from scratch. Adding new products that aren’t a fit

with the mission statement will lead to confused

customers and confused customers tend to seek

alternative solutions.

As you build your product roadmap, it’s important

not to lose sight of focus. As David Hieatt of Hiut

Denim puts it: “Do one thing well”. If you focus on

doing that your customers trust in your brand will

grow and you’ll find yourself reaping the rewards.

FOCUS

With your business launched and – hopefully –

successful, it’s tempting to start to establish

plans for expansion. In my article ‘Repeat’ (net #300)

I stressed the need to develop new products or

services to ensure that you have a pipeline of

products. As I noted:

“A single product will only maintain momentum

for so long and, as such, over time you’ll naturally

see a fall-off in sales. This is where building a

‘pipeline of products’ comes in. The secret is to

release new products often and maintain contact

with your customer base.”

Adding new products or services to your mix will

help to drive sales. However, it’s important that you

don’t lose focus by adding new products that don’t fit

with your overall brand story.

Businesses often fail as they grow due to a loss of

focus. As more products are added to the mix, the

underlying vision and values of the business can

become diluted. This can lead to confusion in the

minds of customers about what your brand stands for

and what its purpose is.

Branching out in too many directions, especially

if you have a small team, leads to a lack of focus and

Christopher Murphy stresses the need for focus as

you begin to build your product roadmap

INFO

job: Writer, designer

and educator

t: @fehler

w: tinybooks.org

Hiut Denim is focused on one thing: denim. This focus is encapsulated in its

mission to: “Do one thing well”

THE DESIGN OF BUSINESS