Understandably most start up food businesses I hear from want to reach the maximum number of potential customers.

To achieve this mostly they dumb it down, average it out and fall over themselves trying to please everyone by offering more and more choice.

Can you see the problem?

When you seek to please with everyone, you rarely delight anyone.

The answer is simple but counter intuitive:

Consider the smallest market you can imagine. The smallest one that can sustain your business and that you can adequately serve.

Become an expert in that market. Better still, become ‘the expert’ in that market. Make only the best burger or the best mojito or the tastiest, most imaginative cupcakes. Never all three.

In most cities there are many more customers for the ideal product than any small business needs to thrive. Only in tiny, far-flung towns and villages do you need to think about pleasing everyone.

This may be counter-intuitive. It may go against everything you learned in business school but in fact it’s the simplest way to get noticed.

Because you can’t be famous for doing a lot of things averagely

But you’re bound to get famous for doing one thing excellently.