What the pizza guy in Falkenberg can learn about business

In Falkenberg, a small town in southern Sweden, one can find “Lilla Napoli”, a pizza restaurant way beyond usual. It is located in a former hot dog stand where they have built a tent onto the parking lot made of construction plastic sheeting, and temporary wooden plank tables.

They have quite a special code of conduct at “Lilla Napoli” in Falkenberg. The foundation of their code is: ”We focus on pizza. We do not focus on anything else. So our pizzas are good. However the rest does not work. Including service”. They claim they have studied pizza making in Italy and sourced their products and developed their production method forever. They seem crazy, passionate and happy.

The place is packed. It is constantly fully booked. Their opening hours are communicated through hand-written post-it notes posted to Facebook. There is an intense debate if they really make the best Napoli style pizza in northern Europe (and yes, I think so) or not. The place is a huge success.

What can businesses learn from this? I’d like to highlight three things:

– Focus. By focusing on a few things, or even one, you can become very successful.

– Be Genuine. Your genuine passion for something is visible for everyone and it is contagious.

– Location is not everything. If you have a really good idea you create the location.

/Lars