Is it Time to Reinvent Your Business?

Last week, on the way to work, I listened to a business show discussing how successful businesses in the United States retain leaders. The speakers quoted a CEO whose famous quip was “You need to reinvent your business every two years,” which rings partially true because innovation, change and growth will keep your business fresh and a leader in your market.

However, reinventing your company every couple of years may not be the best plan.

Your plan may be to be the steady, solid, reliable business in your market. This is what the hotel brand Howard Johnson’s used to be along the East Coast. My grandparents used to stop there all the time when driving on vacation. My grandmother used to say it was not the best, but it was reliable. This worked for years, but eventually it went by the wayside.

On the other side of this is Cracker Barrel. The restaurant chain tried to reinvent itself earlier this year, but did not think it through. Luckily, it reacted quickly to its customers’ reactions and made a quick pivot. Others, like Jaguar, decided to stick to its new branding, which has been a disaster—it now has a new CEO and marketing executive as a result.

Reinventing a business may be the right move for some, but you really must think it through. Most customers in our industry don’t like abrupt changes. Continual improvement and innovation are the smart way to go. Updating your products or services with innovations and adding new products or services will help you reinvent small parts of your business at a time.

Last month at the trade show in Orlando, Frameless Hardware Company noticed that customers were looking to expand business offerings. For instance, shower door companies want to add glass handrails or get into the aluminum storefront replacement business. This was how businesses operated many years ago, when full-service shops were the rage. Companies would offer replacement glass (even windshields), screens, mirrors and showers.

Though as the years ticked by, I noticed more companies became more specialized. In certain markets, if competition is eating into profits, dipping into other markets might be wise. The key is to be ready to pivot if things are not working out. In my last life, the boss liked to say that we were the result of 50 years of mistakes, but we were flexible enough not to let any of them put us out of business.

I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season. I was glad to meet a lot of you at the trade show. Thank you all for your support.