Jul

Expansion or explosion

I’ve always been a believer in sticking to your knitting. And by that I mean if your investment vehicle is property, then stick to it and learn more about it and don’t go running off to other things. You will always succeed best at something you know more about.

However I have learned through the last 6 to 12 months that even within ones own area of expertise you must have strict rules. In my company for example I started out as an investor and became an educator. As my primary skill set is communication and my passion is to see people succeed that was a good evolution, property and people related and playing to my strengths. As time went on I occasionally would offer property deals I was buying to others to help them get going. My thinking was that these deals work for me, I have researched them, I am buying them and therefore they should be good for others. The temptation then was to do more and more of that as it made life easier for my clients and helped them take action. And I have many clients who have been extremely grateful for helping them with this and it’s worked fabulously for them.

I do think though I inadvertently crossed a line here in terms of not sticking to my knitting. With the best intentions in the world I had moved into another area that had greater risk and was less “core business”. Whilst I never became conflicted in terms of selling things I thought were bad, quite the reverse, I have had nevertheless to revisit my vision and goals and make sure I am only doing what I feel called to do, not add “good ideas” on to the plan. My greatest benefit to fulfilling my vision of helping others to become fulfilled emotionally, relationally, spiritually and financially is to focus on doing just that, providing education and inspiration. The add ons can be left to others for whom it is their core business.

It’s like the true story of the New Zealand company that imported suitcases. One of their store-men started breaking down the creates the cases arrived in and started making pallets for the warehouse to shift goods around. The pallets were great and the material was free so the management were very happy. One day a client visiting the factory saw the pallets and was so impressed he asked where he could buy the. So they started selling surplus pallets to this company. The demand grew and they eventually started buying timer to make more pallets as the volume of crates was inadequate. Incredibly the company eventually was generating more revenue from pallets than suitcases.

Sadly, (yep there’s always a sadly), 18 months later the company was in receivership as it had lost so much money for pallet sales. You see they had no business plan or robust costings etc. for pallets because they were an add on. An add on that took the core business down.

So in your business, or your investing, or even your marriage are you adding things on that might destroy YOUR core goals. The Bible talks about the little foxes that spoil the vine. In other words a seemingly small tangent or new thing can be very destructive long term. In just the same way as a small tweak in the right direction can be beneficial.

What do you need to revisit, say no to or sort out to ensure you get the results you want with your head held high?? Focus on making “the main thing”, “the main thing”.