Often when I speak to small business owners or my Oh Joy! Academy students, they are interested in adding new parts to their business but unsure if it’s the right move. Here are some things you can ask yourself…
Does this new service or product feel like it could benefit your current audience while not competing with existing offerings you have?
Adding services or new products to your brand is always about the balance of adding variety without alienating your existing options. Think through how it varies from what you currently offer and how it overlaps.
Can you test it out?
Are you able to offer the service for a few people gratis or at a lower fee to test it out? Or make a few samples and see what people think? Last year, I was thinking about added a new type of consulting service to my business, so I gave away a few sessions via Instagram. While I had fun with the clients and felt like I had helped them, I realized that it was much more work and time-intensive then I had expected. It was great to try it without too much pressure to then discover it didn’t make sense for me.
Is it OK if it’s ultimately a “no”?
Trying new things is hard because what if they fail?!?! But think about this and say to yourself…
If I try this thing, and it doesn’t work, what have I really lost? For some it’s a serious calculation – manufacturing and development costs, a huge amount of time, etc. For others, you realize that the risk isn’t all that big because the cost to try it is worth the potential success and not too big of a drag if it’s not right. In my new type of consulting experiment, I ultimately “lost” about ten hours of my time, but that was worth the risk. (This isn’t even counting the things I gained – experience, skill, followers, etc.). We’re taught as a society to fear the “no” and avoid failure at all costs, but the “no” is part of the process!
Is it a passion of yours or something you can’t let go of?
Trust your gut. If this expansion or new product or service is something that keeps nagging at your mind, that you know you’d be great at or your customers would love – do it! It’s scary to try new things but you’ve trusted yourself enough to create your business. Follow that drive and trust yourself that you know what’s right or that you at least need to give it a go. If it’s keeping you up at night – go for it! If it’s putting you to sleep – forget about it!
Top photo by Bethany Nauert from the Oh Joy Dining Room
