How much risk are you willing to take?

"Do our company's current numbers truly show the best vertical market for us to focus on? Or could we be missing a better opportunity?"

This was the question my client Daniel, an agency founder, asked me last week when discussing which vertical market to focus his agency on. 

The answer begs the question: how much risk do you want to take as an agency owner when narrowing your focus on a vertical market?

When you base this decision on data from current or past clients that you have a track record working with, it is less risky. If you went out to a vertical market that you have no experience with, it's more risky.

You can certainly build your positioning around a new vertical you've never worked in. But you risk discovering six or twelve months down the road that the vertical doesn't align with your agency's natural strengths. 

So, my response to Daniel's question was: "How much risk do you want to take?" and "How quickly do you want to see results?"

CQ