Sweet Spot

Peace can be found between good and evil.  It’s not so easy to find that sweet spot!

Mwanandeke Kindembo

Sweet Spot

Sweet spot is defined as,

1:  sports – the area around the center of mass of a bat, a racket, or the head of a club that is the most effective part with which to hit a ball

2:  an ideal or most favorable location, level, area, or combination of factors for a particular activity or purpose

Additionally, it is the preferred name of popular ice cream and bakery shops.

Life coaches speak of the sweet spot as the intersection between your talents and your passions.  To discover your sweet spot, you need to do work that merges your talents or strengths (things you do best) with your passion (things you do most).

As an example, for an athlete, it is finding a balance of exercise regimen, nutrition, and rest that allows the body to function at its maximum potential.

Leadership enthusiasts speak of their sweet spot as the place where your motivations and strengths intersect.  When you find your sweet spot and begin operating out of it, you will experience increased joy and fulfillment because you will be in your most natural position.

Sweet Spot in Business

In technical business parlance, your sweet spot is that space in which you are able to satisfy customer needs better, cheaper, or differently from your competitors.  A strategic sweet spot is “where it meets customer’s needs in a way that rivals can’t, given the context in which it competes” (Collis and Rukstad).

But it is more than just satisfying customers; it is about satisfying you. 

Your sweet spot is when customers are gratified, and your unique skills, the things you care about, and what you want in life all intersect.  We all have unique skills, and if we apply them to things we care about, in a way that makes sense for the life we want – that’s where success happens.  That is your sweet spot.

And building a business around your sweet spot means it’ll be something unique and something that you will excel at.

Not a Niche

One of the main reasons many entrepreneurs fail is that they start out by looking for a niche instead of their sweet spot.  A niche is solely based on external factors, like a recognized need in the marketplace or a problem needing a solution.

In contrast, your sweet spot is based on your internal factors – such as your strengths, talents, experiences, passions, and so on.  When you discover your sweet spot, you’ll have every available advantage to become the next leader in your marketplace.

The Bible

Joshua 1:9 says,

“Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Over and over and over again, the Lord commands – not asks, not politely requests, but commands – Joshua to not be afraid.  So when looking at Joshua’s circumstances, it seems to be a bit self-evident that to be afraid would be the worst possible thing.

Here was the son of a guy named Nun, taking over for perhaps the greatest leader in human history, Moses.  Joshua was charged to lead a slave nation in the middle of the desert, where he’d be commanded to win war after war after war, using people who have never fought a war, against nations who have been warring their entire history.

It is no wonder God needed to tell Joshua not to be afraid.

But it doesn’t really matter the circumstances.  You’ll find it throughout the entirety of the Bible, whatever book you may open.

Do not be afraid.

You can find it from Joshua – and before it, in Genesis and Exodus and Deuteronomy, too – to the New Testament.  For example, in Mark 5:36, it is written:

As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”

“Do not be afraid,” is the sweet spot of the Bible.

Our business world today has plenty of things that elicit fear. 

Business leaders and entrepreneurs need to know that God is taking care of them, that He will be with them in times of trials, and that He has a plan for them, and as long as they listen to Him, they will be successful.

Let God help you find your sweet spot in your business.