Why Being a Generalist Hurts Your Brand

Ever been to The Cheesecake Factory?

I don't like that place. And yes I know they have pumpkin cheesecake but still. Did you know The Cheesecake Factory has over 250 menu items? The last time I was there (circa 2006) the menu was 19 PAGES long. NINETEEN!!!

What in the actual hell?! 

Seriously? Gross. I don't trust any place whose menu spans burritos, pasta carbonara, bang-bang shrimp and Glamburgers (yep, they've trademarked that name and I have so.many.questions) just to name a few...

Why? Because I'm a firm believer that any restaurant offering that many food items can't possibly be doing any of them particularly well. 

Wanna know the restaurants I lurv? The ones that do a thing and nail it every time. Like when I was a kid growing up there was this family-run Mexican restaurant (still open btw!) a couple towns over and they had just two items on their menu:

- fajitas

- enchiladas

That's it. Want a burrito the size of your face? A delicious cheesy quesadilla of love? A tasty chimichanga? Sorry, no dice. 

But you know what? Their fajitas and enchiladas were damn good and they were literally famous for them. So good we'd occasionally make the 30 minute drive to wait in the 1-2 hour long queue to get in (happily, you could have a pitcher of margaritas while waiting which --let's be real-- makes the food that much better). 

By now you might be wondering: what's the point, Phyllis? Are you really asking me to take time outta my day so you can wax philosophical about cheesecake and Mexican food? 

Point is this: don't be like The Cheesecake Factory in your business. 

I see this mistake a lot. Well-meaning entrepreneurs and small business owners wanting to be everything to everyone so they offer a crap ton of packages, services, products. And worse? Ask them who their package/service/product is for and they say, "well...anyone!" 

Woof.

Being a generalist dilutes your brand. It also makes it way harder to speak clearly about what you do, why you do it, and who you do it for. 

Having a hard time getting traction in your business? Edit yourself down. Like, yesterday. Hear me now believe me later: you want to become the go-to person in your field. Niche down + offer a signature package/service/product and it'll make these 3 things happen:

• you'll stick in people's minds better

• because they're no longer trying to remember exactly what it is you're good at

• which means they'll be more likely to refer to you

Case in point: I currently have a client who's a Comptroller at a big tech company. We're working to get his own business started as a bookkeeper for...

musicians

That's right. Not a bookkeeper for entrepreneurs. Not a bookkeeper for creatives. He's getting super-laser-focused and honing in on just musicians. 

And the beauty is because he's the guy you've gotta use if you're a professional musician needing help with your books he'll have a much easier time attracting exactly the right peeps and repelling everyone else. 

So. Tell me true, boo: are you a go-to gal? If not, what can you do right now to start editing yourself down?