Ever noticed how good kids are at making you answer why something happens? They just keep pressing. My daughter boxes me in all of the time….

Her: “Why is the sky blue?”

Me: “Good question sweetheart. That’s just how it is.”

Her: “But why?”

Me: “Well, it just is.”

Her: “Yeah daddy. But why?”

She simply doesn’t settle for “Just because,” nor should you if you own a business. Learning to ask why – and pressing until you get a clear answer – is a great practice because it cuts out lazy decisions and decisions based on conventional wisdom. We ask why at Schedulefly all the time.

Why do we need to go to trade shows? Why do we need to issue press releases? Why do we need sales people? Why do we need distribution partners? Why do we need to provide a product demo on our site? Why do we need to try to serve anybody but restaurants? Why do we need office space? And so on.

So many conventional business practices and methods just don’t make since for our business, and probably don’t for your business when you really start asking why. Asking why like a five year old is a simple but powerful practice because it helps you whittle your business down to the basics, keep your overhead low, maintain a laser focus, and generate profits!

For what it’s worth, asking why obsessively helped us conclude that we don’t need to go to trade shows, we don’t need to issue press releases, we don’t need sales people, we don’t need distribution partners, we don’t need a product demo on our web site, we don’t need to spread ourselves thin and try to serve anybody but restaurants, and only one of us needs an office outside the home.

Keepin’ It Simple & Fun,

Wes, Tyler, and Wil