Do your thing and do it well
Today we welcome back Joanna Maxwell of WorkInColour to Small Business Owner. Joanna shares how great tapas inspired this post!
I recently had an amazing lunch at Melbourne’s MoVida tapas bar, and the experience reminded me of some great business advice – find what you do really well and focus on improving it, becoming expert at it and making your business or career revolve around it.
Play with it, add to it, improvise and have fun, but stick to a core theme that works for you, that expresses what you are really good at, the ‘essence’ of you.
You see, MoVida does exactly that – they do tapas and other Spanish food, and that’s it. They do it REALLY well, but you won’t find any Asian fusion dishes or middle eastern specialities here.
That said, as chef and co-proprietor Frank Camorra says in the fabulous MoVida cookbook , each dish is handcrafted and slightly different to the rest.
Some ingredients have been substituted for Australian varieties, some dishes have been improvised, some are really adventurous, but it all comes back to the roots of tapas and other Spanish food. The service is sublime and their enthusiasm for the food and the customer’s experience of it is palpable.
Their manifesto:
- Be led by the season and let the produce create the menu.
- Find a source of (regional) inspiration.
- Create but remain true to the source of both the produce and the inspiration.
- Explore and be curious with new techniques.
- Reject pointless complication and embrace the beauty of simplicity.
With not so very many changes, that could be any business’s manifesto:
- Be led by your strengths and let them create your business offerings or career path.
- Find a source of (external, client-driven) inspiration.
- Create but remain true to the source of both your strengths and the inspiration.
- Explore and be curious with new techniques.
- Reject pointless complication and embrace the beauty of simplicity.
Each time I have eaten at MoVida, the dishes are different, the ingredients vary, but the quality is always brilliant and the experience is always ‘essence of MoVida’. That’s why I come back, for their perfect blend of consistency and variety.
How could you offer that, in your career or your business? What is your ‘essence of MoVida’?
Joanna Maxwell, Owner, WorkInColour
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Hi Joanna,
Great insights, I think you’ve absolutely hit the nail on the head. The restaurant analogy also works with one of my pet peeves: restaurants that say they serve “Asian food”. Would you rather go out for “Asian food”, or go to a place that specialises in Thai or Chinese or Korean? In my opinion, there’s no debate.
Cheers,
Andy
Hi Andy
I couldn’t agree more! Both about the food and the business…
My business didn’t really take off until I became very clear about what I do (creative thinking, career change, working in colour) and what I don’t do (life coaching, relationship coaching, MC gigs, after dinner speeches, hard skills training…). The list of ‘don’t dos’ is long and (unfortunately) most of the things on it got there because I did them first before realising how ‘not me’ they were!
So part of my mission now is to short circuit that process for others…if you are ‘Asian; what kind of Asian are you?
Right. You didn’t directly speak to USPs in the post (although I see it’s there in the tags!), but it’s all about defining what that unique selling proposition is and hammering away at it.
Indeed – and it’s harder than I thought it would be when I started (as all those ‘Asian’ restaurants would probably agree!)
But absolutely worth it…
Great article Joanna. When I started my business I had the idea of bringing coaching and meditation together which was an unusual combination back then. But it felt right to me and it made my offering unique.
The thing that I love about this is that it means that I attract exactly the sort of people I enjoy working with which works for everyone.
Isn’t that the truth! And it lets you work with your strengths, so you do better work, too. As you say, it works for everyone…
Hi Johanna & Folks :- )
Indeed important considerations when approaching anything really…but especially business planning.
It reminds me of a quote I like that has been attributed to Bruce Lee –
“Simplicity is the last step of Art & the beginning of Nature”( http://bit.ly/1uceO ).
In the past I’ve been a great one for trying to be everything to everyone, but my new Mobile Wood-Fired Pizza Business is testament to my application of the very ‘Manifesto’ that you have provided.
So many well meaning folks have made so many suggestions…but I have held to the manifesto…my intention remains focusing on simplicity and quality.
Unfortunately, in the last 24 hours I have been subjected to those that think differently. 2 weeks away from launch and I was informed yesterday (the day I picked-up my new mobile oven…which looks great by the way :- ), that I’ve been summarily suspended from and I’m about to be sued by the National Trainging Provider contracted by the government to deliver the NEIS Program (i.e. New Enterprise Incentive Scheme – http://bit.ly/43DSzD ), of which I have been a participant since July 2007. I’ve got 3 months to go on the program…what a waste of tax payers money.
It’s definitely a new take on Small Business Support. So now I’m faced with taking on a National Training Provider and a Commonwealth Gov’t Department. It could cripple me at the goal post.
I’m currently contacting other participants (apparently I’m not alone in being unfairly attacked), and Government Reps to mount a defence…but it’s not exactly helpful or cost effective for the country for our businesses to be destroyed for doing our best to do ‘the right thing’ and contribute to the country in a time great economic challenge.
Clearly the best philosophy in the world struggles in the face of uncaring behemoths trying to cut costs and making those least able to afford it to pay for their mistakes &/or inefficiencies.
My apologies if it appears inappropriate to place this unfortunate news here…but I think it is both relevant and necessary that us ’small’ folk not to be intimidated by such high level ’supporters’ of small business.
Cheers
Stephen G
Oops! Typo…should be July 2008.
Cheers
Stephen G
Hi Stephen
It does make you wonder…and it sounds like a horrendous experience. particularly cruel when as you say you have held true to your manifesto and are so close to launch. Fingers crossed that it doesn’t throw your launch into chaos. Love your strategy of contacting others who may have been similarly treated – I think it is a really powerful way for small business to respond to these types of tactics. Power to the people, I say!
Sorry all. Have been out of town and am still not technically back. Will try to respond properly tomorrow. Including wonderful Joanna post
and dreadful Stephen news 
Hi Guys,
Thanks for you kind words and support…
I’ve just written to A Current Affair…stay tuned.
Cheers
Stephen G
[...] was set to write a light post on best business books. But when I read Joanna’s fabulous article and Stephen’s distressing news, it just didn’t seem right. So here’s my two-part response [...]