MSMP 106: Erin Young on Picking Your Niche and Simplifying Your Business

Today, joining me is none other than Erin Young, the founder, and principal consultant for SlideUX. This family-run consultancy provides practical and measurable approaches to business rather than quick and fancy hacks to unlock a magical way to get rich and earn money. Erin is a user experience architect who shares the same passion as I do to simplify processes, especially in a business setting. 

Erin and I began our talk on how many businesses nowadays tend to offer a lot of services. Although it may generally sound like a good idea, this paves the way for confusion because most business owners may lose their way and even stunt or stop the growth of their business because they have too much on their plate. 

Many businesses tend to follow what's popular instead of providing value. When they are asked, they can't answer their ROI or if that service is helping the company. While most new businesses may struggle to simplify their process, they shouldn't hesitate to cut down their list early on because it might be the only thing stopping them from being successful. However, new business owners should ensure that whatever they are "niche-ing" into is a real need and not just a quick-rich scheme. 

The devil is in the details when you have a business. While seeing the overview of your business can help you feel inspired to work, business owners need to look a little closer to know precisely what's going on in their business and what's being worked on. Sometimes, we even need to get involved and throw ourselves in, especially when dealing with a difficult client or a new task.

Key Learning Points:

1. Erin shares how they used to offer many services to clients initially but had to get rid of them because it would take time for the client to get back to them. - 3:35
2. Mads says that having many services to offer may sound good, but it isn't generally a nice thing to do. - 5:18
3.  Erin shares how cathartic she felt when her company simplified their list of services; she adds that they could cut down on 75% that cluttered their list. - 05: 55
4. Erin says that you don't need to sell it if you don't have a standard for your service. - 7:00
5. Erin shares how she wishes she could go back in time to simplify her business sooner. - 10:21
6. Mads says that if you have an easy-to-replicate and standardize process, you should focus on that. - 11:21
7. Erin says that she uses the standards in her company as somewhat of an entry pass, especially for clients who want a longer-lasting relationship. - 14:21
8. Mads says that the devil is in the details when it comes to business.- 16:21
9. Erin says that she sometimes gets involved with her staff to retrain them rather than seek a new client.- 17:09
10. Mads says that if you have particular case studies, gaining new clients - even in the most "niched" areas becomes so much easier- 18:38

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