When Focus Becomes Blindness

Everyone's got a gospel about focus. "Riches are in the niches." "Stay in your lane." "Avoid shiny objects like they're radioactive."

And yeah, there's truth there. Most business owners fail because they're trying to be everything to everyone, spreading themselves thinner than gas station coffee.

But here's what the focus zealots won't tell you: Sometimes your lane is a dead end.

From Rats to Bears

I was listening to Liz Picarazzi who built her business, Citibin, on rat-resistant trash bins for cities discuss a pivot on the 21 Hats Podcast. Upscale trash cans have solid demand and there are a lot of rats out there. The focus brigade would tell her to double down, triple down, become the undisputed queen of urban rodent deterrence. In fact that’s what most people have told her.

Know what she did instead? Started selling bear-resistant bins to rural markets.

Why? Because customers kept asking for them. The market was literally banging on her door while she was busy "focusing" on rats.

It became her first product that she could manufacture in the US and coincided with the rise in tariffs that is stressing her urban product portfolio.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: Focus isn't always a virtue. At some point it can just be myopia. With the rise of tariffs, Liz looks less like an owner chasing shinny objects and more like one making smart diversification bets.

The difference between smart focus and stubborn myopia? Evidence and a bit of entrepreneurial gut instinct.

She didn't just chase a random idea. She had inquiries piling up. She analyzed the competitive landscape—way less crowded than the urban market. She listened to actual money trying to find her.

There Are Different Kinds of Focus

I heard Liz just a few hours after a coaching session with a client concerned about falling leads. They were keeping revenue up by focus hard on renewals and some cross-selling of services to existing customers but net new was falling.

We did some exploration and discovered that what really drove net new customers was new services. A new service create a burst of attention and referrals. It also created a lot of additional cross-selling.

Now we are exploring a new package that will help expand their market.

Since that call I’ve been thinking, maybe what they should focus on is pioneering new offerings. It seems to be what the market wants. Each one has a limited market but together they contribute to a fast growing business.

Focus is a tool, not a religion. The rule exists to make you money, not to make you pure.

When the market sends you signals, real signals, not fantasies, ignoring them isn't focus; it's blindness. And last I checked, blind businesses don't last long.

Your customers are trying to tell you something. Maybe it's time to listens.

Alan

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