A discussion about the process, steps and options of starting a new business

Here's a problem that the executives at "American Idol" are dealing with as they head into the new season of the show, which premiers on Tuesday, January 15th, 2008, as reported in today's edition of Variety:

"The show has got to look better. It's got to be more fun as a show," he says. "It absolutely comes down to the content of what we provide the viewers."

Exec producer Nigel Lythgoe concedes that mistakes were made last year. For starters, Lythgoe says the show spent too much time on big-name guest mentors and performers, at the expense of investing viewers in who's who (particularly early in the show's competish).

"We need to put our hand up and take the blame," he says. "We missed out on telling the best stories. If (contestants) were uninteresting, it's because we made them uninteresting."

As a result, "Idol" is looking to shake things up this year by spending more time on those contestant backstories.

"I want to give up that time and focus on the kids," Lythgoe says. "It's the emotional hooks that sell us, and get us watching every week. I don't think last year we were necessarily an appointment to view. There wasn't a 'I want to watch Bo Bice win' or 'I want to see Justin Guarini get kicked off' feeling to the show."

Already, the marketing of "Idol" has reflected that change, Liguori says.

"We've had our promos talk a little bit more about 'I'm from Nebraska, I'm a cotton candy maker,' and 'I'm from Oklahoma, I'm a cowboy,' " he says. "We're basically trying to set it up that this is a show about people with stories. ... It's about people who think they're good (singers) and (are) not, and people who think they're good and are great."

The bottom line for small business owners like you?  Keep focused on what your customers want, and what they like, from your business.  If you see a drop off in sales, you want to immediately look at what went wrong and what you need to do to change.

Big-time TV shows have to do it, and so do you.  Or else it'll be "thumbs down" on your entrepreneurial venture...