I have my business coach Thea Orozco to thank for explaining the concept of the pivot to me recently.

To quote the Financial Times, when used in relation to entrepreneurship, a pivot describes the twists and turns that most start-ups go through to find the right customer, value proposition, and positioning.

The idea is that you take what you learned from previous ventures – both successes and failures – and apply these insights in new areas.

Steve Blank goes further. A pivot, he writes, is not just changing your product. It is changing any of nine different things in your business model:

• your customer segment,
• your channel,
• revenue model/pricing,
• resources,
• activities,
• costs,
• partners,
• customer acquisition.

If you are on your first or second business venture, how many iterations do you think it might take before you hit on a business model that delivers the results you want?

So don’t get discouraged if your current strategy is not flowing.

If Plan A has failed, keep pivoting.

Just make sure you absorb the lessons.

P.S. Are you going through a pivotal phase in your business and wish you could talk things through with someone who understands and can help illuminate your next steps? 

Book a Clarity Consultation here.