Many of my first-time clients have a fantastic new product idea. However, they often are caught up in the excitement of their new idea and envision the grand future their new product will give them. As a result, they focus too much energy on ways to scale their business, even before they figure out if people are willing to exchange money for their product.
When they are in this mindset, they are either looking for money to grow their business or a way to meet their anticipated demand too early in the process. I often tell them that their first job is not to focus on scaling up, but rather to focus on adoption. A focus on scaling the business from the outset is often wasted energy since they need to attract a following first.
Businesses should not worry about scaling until they see traction within the early majority category of adopter, as discussed in a previous post, since many companies will not be able to cross the chasm between early adopters and the early majority. However, companies can cheat a bit on the scaling front during their early stages by outsourcing production to co-packers until sufficient momentum in sales and traction is achieved.
Are you too focused on scaling when you should be focused on adoption?
