It’s all in the detail…pay attention to it
Recently, I was drawn towards a quotation by the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, which I would like to share with you: “If you don’t understand the details of your business, you are going to fail.” My initial response to reading this was something along the lines of: “Bit harsh there Jeff!” But coming from one of the most successful entrepreneurs out there, who is now allegedly the richest person in the WORLD, with an estimated net worth of 197 billion US dollars (as of April 2021), we can’t not listen to his advice when it comes to business.
I particularly like this quotation of his because in my experience ‘detail’ is often so overlooked in business. I’ve lost count of the times over the years where the attention to detail has been completely disregarded, and detail in my opinion is the MOST important part of business.
Our businesses are made up of a million and one different aspects – these are the details that when encompassed in your unique identity, form a unique brand and together are the difference between a successful business and an unsuccessful one. Whether you are aware of it or not, those looking from the outside into your business will certainly notice them (or lack of them), even if you don’t.
Yes we should know our numbers.
Yes we should know our audience.
Yes we should know our core values.
Yes we should know our products/services.
Yes we should understand our operations.
Yes we should have a marketing strategy.
Yes we should know our ‘why’.
…and on it goes…
Taken one step further, do you know the bare bones – the ‘details’ of your business?
It may seem daunting to embark on the process of analysing every little thing you do, identifying what works and what doesn’t, continually experimenting with new ideas and highlighting aspects of your business you have never really paid attention to before, but looking at the bigger picture, if you see it as your contribution towards creating a more successful business for yourself and therefore life for yourself, it won’t seem like such a burden and you may even start to enjoy it and in turn make it a part of your day to day routine.
Pay attention, monitor and highlight every aspect, however small WITHIN the above larger elements that make up your business and that is where the sweet spots are, that is where you will discover your golden USPs, that is where innovation derives from, that is where inspiration lives, waiting to be discovered.
The detail is what sets your business apart from the rest – pay attention to it.
Fiona Duncan-Steer
For help in identifying the details of your business further, contact me: fiona@rsvipnetwork.co.uk