Protect your niche

A few weeks ago I visited a rural town in another country in the region. It was not my first time to go there and I expected that my contacts would make reservations for me in the same hotel, which I had used before. That hotel must have been in the 2 stars category, with a self contained room. There was even a small TV with DSTV programs in the room, which could be enjoyed as long as you liked what ever the receptionist chose to watch from her desk, you know what I mean. The service was reasonable and there was running water in the rooms with large back up containers, so I remembered my previous stay as comfortable enough.
Upon arrival though, my contacts took me to another place, a guesthouse, which was a new development in the town and was still partly under construction. But they promised, the service would be more personal and the location was nearer to the offices I was to visit the next day. The guesthouse was a large residential house indeed with some six self contained rooms, a living room with dining and coffee table, a large TV set and an even larger fridge filled up with refreshments. The welcome by the manager was pleasant and made me feel at home immediately. And so I took my suitcase and other belongings to one of the rooms, ordered for dinner later that evening and left to do some business.
Early in the evening I returned, took a seat, watched the news, had a drink and looked forward to my dinner, which was being prepared. "True personal services", I thought and I was satisfied with the choice of my accommodation.
While enjoying my dinner, some people began trickling in, sat down in the comfortable armchairs, smiled to the workers, were served with beers and watched some kind of soap series. I was a bit surprised as these people didn't seem to be guesthouse clients like me. It didn't take long before the beers loosened their tongues and the volume of their conversation began to increase. Finishing my dinner I wondered what to do next. I had planned to work and read a bit and perhaps watch some more news or one of the Africa Cup football matches but couldn't because all seats were occupied and the TV remote control was in possession of the other guests. After cleaning the dining table, the ladies who had served me so well until then, mingled with the party and continued to serve them. I decided I had no place anymore in the living room of the guesthouse and went to my bedroom. There was no way I could sleep though as the sounds from the living room grew louder and louder and turned into a kind of party. It lasted until 1am.
The following morning I made up my mind to leave the guesthouse after breakfast and return to the familiar hotel on the other side of town. I wasted no time to inform the manager that we were very disappointed with what had happened and that I was leaving. Interestingly enough she fully understood and said it was a problem for her too as outsiders had begun using the guesthouse as a drinking place and she hadn't managed to stop this from becoming a habit. Instead she had to turn off the generator after midnight to get the drinkers on their way out. The owner of the guesthouse had allowed this situation to develop, thinking this was a way to attract clients to his new business. He was away to the capital city though and she wanted to discuss the matter with him as soon as he returned. Meanwhile she pleaded for me to stay and promised that she would try to manage the situation. Too late however, as far as I was concerned as I could not trust the situation not to be repeated during the evening again. So I paid my bills and left.
Now, think of the consequences. Instead of earning money for three nights, the guesthouse lost the income for two nights. This because priority was given to people who only came to drink some beers, providing significantly less income for the guesthouse than from those renting a room. The fact that I left resulted in negative PR as I had to explain to my contacts why I was changing accommodation. Such news travels fast in a small town like this. I will not return to the guesthouse and I will not recommend it to anybody. This is a bad start for a new business that yet had to begin full operations.
The owner and the manager would do well - and we left this advice to them for their own benefit - to stick to running a guesthouse. With the limited options in town, a guesthouse with good facilities including access to the internet, self contained clean rooms with running hot water, a quiet living room, personal service and good meals, could be the top place for consultants and visiting business men and women, who wouldn't mind paying some more money for services not found elsewhere in town. The owner's idea to build a guesthouse in the town seems excellent to me as indeed there is a niche for such a business. Allowing that niche to be infiltrated by elements that are a threat to the image and identity of the business is unwise. "For residents only" would help in establishing a place worth visiting because it is exclusive.
We see this happen more often, that business owners give in to the temptation to do other things than the business was meant to focus on. Allowing to side track and adding on activities to the main business could indeed negatively affect the effectiveness of the business.
Focus is key. Sticking to the mission means that management and workers continue to apply their time and resources to the main business. Diverting means that time, energy and resources will be lost to other work, not necessarily contributing to growth, quality and effectiveness of the main business.
Consider some of the following examples:
nRestaurants, hotels and guesthouses operating a bar or disco, attracting a different and disturbing the primary guests.
nConsultants taking on additional assignments outside their primary field of expertise.
n Development organizations running income generating activities, distracting their facilitation of development.
nGovernment running businesses, while their expertise and primary role is to develop policy, set frameworks, creating a conducive environment, control and facilitate.
Remember, niche and focus are key in building up a business or organization which is specialised and therefore able to provide quality service and products. Side activities blur the image of the organization, take away time and resources, slow down main production processes and render management less effective.