Disciplined Entrepreneurship Workbook

STEP 2Select a Beachhead Market

WHAT IS STEP 2, SELECT A BEACHHEAD MARKET?

Select one market segment from the Market Segmentation analysis, Step 1, to be the first market your business will focus on to achieve initial business success.

WHY DO WE DO THIS STEP, AND WHY DO WE DO IT NOW?

As a new entity, you have limited resources, so focusing those resources is essential. You do this step now because, now that you have completed at least a first pass Market Segmentation, you can start to intelligently concentrate your efforts on a single market segment to make better and faster progress.

By the Book: See pages 41–45 of Disciplined Entrepreneurship for basic knowledge on this step.

See pages 45–47 of Disciplined Entrepreneurship for examples of how different companies and teams have addressed this step.

Process Guide

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines beachhead as “a beach on an enemy’s shore that an invading army takes and controls in order to prepare for the arrival of more soldiers and supplies.” The analogy for entrepreneurs is that to optimize your chances of success in a timely manner, you will employ the same game plan, choosing a small market segment you can control until your company has sufficient resources to enter other markets.

First, ask yourself: Are the markets from your Market Segmentation in Step 1 well-defined enough and small enough to attack successfully ...