Entrepreneurs who plan poorly can find themselves scrambling.

Says this New York Times article (registration required).

One company discussed in this article is in an incredibly competitive business, with a very limited number of customers.  They make pipe organs, for which demand has shrunk a massive 75% in the past 30 years,  according to the article.

Responding to the shrinkage, this particular company is innovating.  Not only are they making their production processes more efficient to keep prices affordable, but they're also started building furniture and airplane parts (of all things). 

The reason I'm bringing this up is because we've reached that point in the year when artists (and many businesses) look back at the past year to see how they did.  In doing so, they hope to gain insight into what products or services made the most profit, which products/services need to be tweaked, and which need to be done away with all together. 

Of course, for some of you, summer show orders and re-orders are still coming in.  And once that's done, it's time to see which product lines sold--and which didn't.  Then you'll want to figure out what you want to improve next year.  This isn't to suggest that you start making airplane parts (or something completely unrelated to your business), but it does point to the fact that a diverse product offering helps to stabilize your bottom line.  They key is to review and revise.

More about this in the upcoming issue of Market Insider.  Stay tuned!