Hey everyone,
Here’s a $500 million cautionary tale: Long John Silver’s.
Decades ago, it dominated the fast seafood category, with 1,500 stores and a 65% market share. They were everywhere. And they got there by doing just one thing incredibly well:
Fried fish, hush puppies, coleslaw, and French fries.
But today, it’s a shadow of its former self, with fewer than 400 locations and more closing every day.
I’m hosting a free event next Friday with franchise consultant Connor Groce.
It’s a path to business ownership that a lot of people write off too soon — including me, until recently!
Also: this isn’t a big infomercial. Connor’s a good teacher, and brutally honest about the downsides.
So sign up and bring questions! → RSVP here.
Event is this Friday, Aug 15 at 12CT/1ET.
Long John Silver’s is an excellent example of a business that, for a long time, didn’t get distracted.
They didn’t follow the rest of the fast food market as it leaned into burgers and chicken. And that set them apart. By not chasing #1 overall, they stayed #1 in their niche.
Until the mid-90s, when they got fancy.
New leadership sought to modernize the menu, introducing healthier items, competing on more fronts, and capturing more customers.
But instead of gaining ground, they lost what they had. Customers who loved the original formula felt alienated. New customers didn’t bite. Sales softened, and the brand slowly faded.
It’s easy to look at this and say “classic shiny object syndrome.” But the real issue was deeper:
They stopped respecting their niche.
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The pressure to complicate
When you’re focused, you become efficient. Your supply chain is streamlined, your playbooks are field-tested, and your financials are more predictable.
But if you’re a business builder, you know there is a constant tension to branch out.
A big customer wants a custom version of your product
A competitor launches a new feature you know you could do better
Your team pushes for a new market or offering “to grow faster”
And, inherently, your employees are motivated to increase complexity
And you think: Why not? We can handle it.
But each new direction adds complexity to your marketing, your ops, your positioning. For your customers, you may no longer be the obvious solution to their pain point.
In my experience, the most successful small businesses win by being unmistakable, not versatile.
3 ways to stay focused
In your positioning: are you aimed at becoming the no-brainer solution for a single, perfect customer? Or are you trying to be “pretty good” for a bunch of people?
In your roadmap: just because you can build something doesn’t mean you should. Spend your time and attention on things that deepen your dominance in the thing you do best.
In your team: you’ve probably heard that Charlie Munger quote, “Show me the incentives, I’ll show you the results.” Are you motivating your team to chase healthy business growth or quick wins?
3 things from this week
Appetizer: On Acquisitions Anonymous this week, we looked at… Uber for horses?
Main: I posted my top 11 pieces of advice for entrepreneurs to LinkedIn (fancy design, huh?). Stuff that business owners need to hear. Here’s the scariest one for an owner to tackle. Whole list is here.
Dessert: Everywhere is flooded with AI news. It’s making me do crazy things.
Thanks for reading!
Michael
P.S. Don’t forget to RSVP for the franchising conversation on Friday! Or, if that’s not your bag, check out my other upcoming events here.
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