Breaking Bad: one product to rule them all

8 August 2014 by Catherine Holdsworth in Business and finance, Entertainment

The late Steve Jobs was quoted as saying, ‘Do not try to do everything. Do one thing well’. In Breaking Bad, Walter White said, ‘you asked me if I was in the meth business or the money business. Neither. I’m in the empire business’. There are many businesses that have achieved success even though they only offer one product: think of Coca Cola, for example. By dedicating one’s effort into the quality of a particular product or service rather than spreading yourself too thin, your business is more likely to thrive.

Walter White and Jesse Pinkman did just that. Their product was superior ‘blue’ crystal meth and it was due to hard work, creativity and commitment (and the odd well-placed explosive) that their business thrived when others around them folded. Here are the three key factors that worked for them:

1. Branding: Walt and Jesse’s blue meth became legendary. Customers could easily identify the product alongside similar ones and associate the colour with the high quality. The colour helped improve brand awareness. Distinguish your business from others around you. What can you do that others can’t?
2. Demand: there was an obvious demand for meth in Albuquerque, New Mexico. With its close proximity to the Mexican border, it was clear that there was a market for what Walt and Jesse were selling. Jesse, a meth user at the beginning of the series, is able to identify that Walt’s product is better than the competition. The two were fortunate enough to manufacture an addictive drug, one that keeps customers demanding more and therefore gives the market a better chance of growing. Identify a need or a weakness in your target market and there will always be people willing to buy your product. You too can help your business thrive by responding to demand. Offer excellent customer service (Walt and Jesse let their distributors keep a cut of their money and offered free ‘tasters’ to increase their customer-base) and your clients will remember that.
3. Quality: Walt’s blue meth was famously 96% pure, better than all its competitors. Knowing that your product is better than that of the competition already gives your business a head start. However, to meet growing demand, Walt and Jesse soon realised that their small business was growing at an exponential rate. Not wishing to compromise on quality, it was imperative that they move their business to bigger premises (and fatefully team up with Gus Fring). A susprisingly large number of businesses fail by becoming too successful too fast. Be wary of your business growing too quickly; make sure you’re logistically prepared, adequately staffed and can cover the costs that a rise in demand brings.

Walt and Jesse’s small cooks in the camper van grew into an empire and at times they were not prepared to meet the demand. However, being business-savvy and exploiting their contacts and the market demands, they were able to flourish. Remember though, even the most powerful can fall. One could say that Walt and Jesse became too ambitious and greedy, letting their ’empire’ unravel in front of them. It was their small business that was the most successful, not the empire.