If you could choose the one thing people immediately associate with your business, what would it be?
It’s an interesting question because most business owners can tell you what they offer, but explaining what they want to be known for requires a little more thought. You might offer several services and do all of them well, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you want every service to play the same role in your business.
When you’re focused on growing, it’s easy to overlook how much the work you accept today shapes the kind of work people will seek you out for tomorrow.
Think about a business that started by offering a particular service but gradually took on other projects because clients kept requesting them. At first, those additional projects might have seemed like a good way to bring in more revenue, especially when the business already had the experience to deliver the work. Over time though, those projects begin to account for a larger share of the business, and the owner realizes most new inquires come from people looking for something that was never meant to be the company’s primary focus.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that situation, particularly if the owner enjoys the work and sees an opportunity to develop the business in a new direction. But it raises an important question: how much of the company’s direction has been intentionally decided, and how much has developed in response to what people have requested.
We think this is a conversation worth having because it’s possible to be successful at something without necessarily wanting it to define your business.
Consider a consulting firm that offers both strategic guidance and project execution. The owner may have the experience to provide both services. Still, there’s a difference between being hired to carry out decisions a client has already made and being brought into the conversation because the client values your perspective before those decisions happen.
The work may overlap, but the relationships you build with clients can differ depending on which direction you emphasize. If your long-term goal is to become known for strategic guidance, consider whether the opportunities you’re pursuing are actually helping you build that reputation.
And that’s where the question becomes more useful than simply deciding what sounds good in a description of your business.
We often talk about growth as though every new opportunity automatically moves a business forward. Still the kind of growth you’re experiencing deserves as much consideration as the amount. A full calendar can be encouraging, especially when you’ve worked hard to establish yourself. Still, it doesn’t necessarily show whether the business is developing in a direction that makes sense for your long-term goals.
Sometimes the opportunities that make the most financial sense in the moment aren’t the ones you want to build the next several years of your business around. That doesn’t mean you should automatically turn them down, because businesses have financial responsibilities and decisions aren’t always as simple as choosing between what you want and what you don’t.
It does mean you should understand the role those opportunities play in your business instead of letting them determine your direction without much consideration.
There’s also something interesting about the way a reputation develops through referrals. When someone recommends your business, they’re usually speaking from their own experience with you, so they’re likely to describe the specific service you provided rather than everything you’re capable of.
If you consistently accept work in an area you don’t intend to prioritize, people will keep associating your business with that work. Eventually, you may find yourself getting more inquiries because that’s what people have come to know you for.
And the reputation you’ve built might be positive, which can make the situation even more complicated. It’s difficult to look at something that’s generating revenue and bringing in satisfied clients and question whether it belongs in the future you’re trying to build.
But we think business owners should be willing to have exactly those kinds of conversations.
Knowing what you want to be known for doesn’t mean your business has to remain exactly as you originally imagined it. In fact, some of the most valuable opportunities come from recognizing that your experience has revealed a direction you hadn't previously considered.
The key is deciding whether you genuinely want to pursue that new direction, rather than continuing simply because the demand exists. Sometimes that decision requires acknowledging that being able to provide a service doesn’t mean you want to become the business everyone calls for.
We think there’s a lot of freedom in recognizing that distinction because it lets you evaluate opportunities based on more than whether you can do the work. You can start considering whether taking on a particular project supports the kind of business you want to run and the reputation you want to build.
That doesn’t require dramatic changes overnight, especially if your current services support the business financially. It may mean being more intentional about which opportunities you pursue so the work you’re becoming known for reflects the direction you’ve chosen.
Ultimately, we don’t think you should treat the question of what your business wants to be known for as something you answer once when you’re developing your brand and never revisit. As your business grows, it’s worth returning to that question because your goals may evolve and your understanding of what you want to build may become clearer. And if the answer has changed, that’s worth paying attention to.
Because there’s a difference between building a business that people know and building a business that’s becoming known for exactly what you intended. The question is whether the work you’re doing today is helping you build the reputation you want to have tomorrow.
