Diversify or Die

RCS Influencer Marty Stout says that understanding why your business needs to diversify is the first step for success.

This month, I am going to write about ‘Why’ not ‘What’ I am doing to diversify my business.  All of us have a different approach to these types of issues and the important thing, in my view, is that we all address them. For some, new products are different types of the same types of products, i.e. I am now using President TL as an upgrade to dimensional shingles and am having great success or we now offer TPO as an alternate to BUR. If you look at markets, we all look differently also, are you thinking of a "market" being single family vs. multi-family or are you looking at commercial vs. residential or Los Angeles vs. Miami? 

Whatever your core business defines as a product or market you must diversify or die. When I was a young man working in residential new construction in thought that the only three kinds of roofs were Medium Shake, Light Brown Three Tab or Dark Brown Three Tab. We roofed hundreds, if not thousands, of houses all over Southern California with one of those three materials. We were good at it and had developed an exceptionally efficient company that if it had not diversified when market forces changed, would have died a quick death.

Always look at what is changing and try to change first or at least very quickly. Don't be the "where is my cheese" company, always be looking to learn, expand, grow. New markets are developing every day, new products are being launched everyday not all are money makers, but some are, and you need to figure out which are the winners, and which are losers. You need to run with change, you need to embrace it or die.

Martin Stout is president of Go Roof Tune Up, Inc.  See his full bio here.