What does a professional Football player do for a living?

Pass? Nah.

Run? Not really.

Block? Still cold.

Win games? Not even that.

If any of these were the answer, there would be no difference between the Pros and Peewee league. Professional athletes have one job — entertaining a crowd. People fill the bleachers and pay astronomical ticket prices in order to be entertained. Football players see a large portion of these proceeds because they are master entertainers.

Often entrepreneurs get trapped thinking of their businesses too narrowly. Just like some might think of Football as being all about passing or blocking, often we think of our products without understanding what we are really selling.

What Are You Selling?

Your real product is almost never about the details and almost always about the experience. Wal*Mart doesn’t sell paper towels, they sell price and convenience. Blogs don’t sell content, they sell entertainment or expertise. The value of what you produce is the answer to the question, “Why would people use my service or my competitors.”

Why is it so critical that you understand this?

We live in an economy where industries change with the tides. The only way that you can keep yourself afloat is by being willing to change along with them while maintaining your core product.

If electrical cars suddenly displaced combustion vehicles, then a smart gas company would get into the battery business. When cell phones took off, smart phone companies got into the mobile business. When you see that your industry is shifting, adapt yourself instead of hoping that the world will conform to you.

Because for most of us, it won’t.

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If you enjoyed that why not find a job or read our guide to working in the 21st century. You can also join our Kiva team or hire me for your project.