Businesses, not Products, serve Clients

Many businesses today strive to make the best products they can. Some of them succeed. Some businesses really build futuristic products that humanity never expected would exist.

More and more businesses now have a good grip of business model and understand how a business model could add value to clients more than products. The startup ecosystem has done a great job there since Silicon Valley took off.

In the above video clip, Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple, explained to a reporter that great businesses, not great products, serve clients best, in response to a question that was intended to question his ability to lead a technology company with limited technical knowledge.

As Steve goes on, he has pointed out many of the differences that make strategic businesses stand out from product-focused startups, which we believe don’t live long enough.

Here are some of those differentiating points:

Strategic Products

One great product pr service is just great. But it can only go that far. No matter how successful it gets. It is most certainly short-lived. For a company to grow and make a change, it has to be standing on a strategic value-add that is not really based on a specific product or service. It is rather a philosophy, identity or a need that a company stands on tall.

Built to Win

A business that is built to win is simply the one that does. You just need to define what winning means to the business. Some businesses are built to last, while some are built to be acquired. There is no one formula for that win, but a business cannot most certainly be built to make money. If a startups aims at a good exit, that’s most probably a delayed failure. While there is nothing wrong with exits, those just cannot be a goal. They can only be an end, but never a targeted goal.

People Do Business, Businesses don’t Make People

If not for the right people, businesses would rarely succeed. Many times have we encountered people who would start businesses for personal success and they earn that success most of the times, whether the business has succeeded or not. The real choice comes when personal benefits come into play and this is when, very rightfully, many businessmen make the best out of the situation. This gives us the best formula where businesses that align with individual benefits make the best businesses.

Growing

It is easy for a business to grow its sales, size or offices but it is incredibly hard and imperatively important for a business to grow into its own next phase. Many business start off really well, grow their clientele and expand into regions yet still operate as a startup. This has its perks: cooler deals, easier investments and more enthusiastic talents. On the downside, this limits the business sustainability and would kill the real potential for growth. Steve Jobs once described Apple as the biggest startup on the planet, which is the best combination a company could aspire to. It’s great to keep some startup aspects but should still realize the right stage of your business.