Most entrepreneurs don’t understand what business they’re actually in.

Classic tale:

Someone who makes great food. Loves it.

Their family tells them, “Open a restaurant!”

They think the business is about the food, when it’s about hospitality.

So, it’s a total failure.

When we look around, this happens a lot.

At first glance, you’re in one business.

But it’s actually another.

Here are some examples.

Our family business is @alamofireworks.

Are we in the fireworks business?

Actually, no.

When we dug into the “why” that people buy fireworks, it always came back to the happy memories they were generating by purchasing them.

We did lots of changes when we got it.

Our @gocodeup business is an education company, right?

When you talk to the customers, they aren’t there for coding education.

For them, @gocodeup is a “yoda” helping them change their lives.

Our approach changed with this — we even rolled out a unique 100% guarantee.

The twitter celebrity rolling fund market is one you’d think is in the ROI business.

I spoke to a friend who’s in all the big twitter ones.

It’s about being progressive for him and cool.

He said, “I do have better places to put my $.”

They aren’t actually in the AUM business!

Is Tesla in the electric car business?

Is Apple in the iphone business?

Are lawyers in the legal business?

Is Starbucks in the coffee business?

Is @coffeetoro in the coffee business?

Are RE agents actually in the brokerage business?

So, I’m a big fan of taking the time to truly understand your customers — and the business that you’re really in.

That enables you to make decisions that align with the true “why” that customers are with you.

And, win more often in the market.

(In closing, let me be the first to say this idea isn’t original. It’s been discussed in like a bazillion business books/podcasts/tweetstorms/etc so my apologies for being an unoriginal whatever whatever.)