Grasshopper, who's a grasshopper?

It was just recently I heard a friend refer to someone else as a grasshopper. I had never heard that description before, it made sense, but I had never heard it phrased this way before. We had been talking about other marketers and we had a mutual friend who seemed to always be moving from one opportunity to another, and not sticking with any one opportunity for any significant length of time. Calling them a grasshopper was very descriptive and very accurate.

Then I got to thinking, grasshopper, who's a grasshopper? Do people think I am a grasshopper too? Perception is everything in the marketing world, so after our evening chatter, by the time I got home, I really started thinking, am I a grasshopper too? All of a sudden that reference didn't seem as harmless. It made me take a step back and really reassess what I am doing and where I want our business to go.

All businesses have to change. Change is required, if you don't change, you most likely will not be in business for very long. The difference is that the changes you make in business have to be relevant to where you are and where you need to go. Change for changes sake is not going to help anyone. So, if change is necessary in order to grow your business, the tough part is to figure out how to implement those changes and not be labeled a grasshopper... Interesting problem. It is an angle I hadn't considered before.

I then took a look at how Hawgwash, LLC has changed over the last two years wondering if we looked like grasshoppers too to the outside world. Gratefully, I don't believe we fit that bill. The other aspect of a grasshopper is someone who would work on one opportunity, drop it and move onto the next, better-looking opportunity. They do this on a regular basis. They look more like opportunists rather than business people. Hawgwash, LLC has not dropped one opportunity for another, but rather, we have expanded our business opportunities to meet a wider range of interests. We have not lost sight of our original business opportunity, waterless wash technology. We also recognize the fact that not everyone is interested in waterless technology, heck there are many people who don't want to bother cleaning their car, with or without water.

So that we didn't turn into a "scotch tape store" we began to expand into other income opportunities that suited us personally, but would also suit our customer base. The other income opportunities we offer are not just opportunities that looked good on paper. The are opportunities that we personally use and believe in. So, unlike some who may change their business model based on the profitability of the month, we are in it for the long haul with our selection of income opportunities. We work all of the opportunities, and don't plan on abandoning them for a newer fad.

Tomorrow we will review the various income opportunities that Hawgwash, LLC has to offer and discuss why we added them to our master business plan.

Until tomorrow...