When it’s an opportunity.

Ok, not my best joke. My career on stage failed before it got off the ground.

As small business owners, we know the path to success – actually, scratch that, survival – is not a straight one. It has twists and turns, hurdles to scrabble over, potholes to avoid if we can. Some problems we can see ahead of us and we can try to avoid, others sneak up and catch us unaware. 

It’s our tenacity that keeps us going through all these highs and lows, and there are definitely highs to experience. That’s why we keep on keepin’ on! These problems are not unique, usually there is someone else in our industry who has experienced or is experiencing the same. Or there is a shared understanding in the communities you are in, where you can collectively work through the problems together. Here, we have that.

But problems ARE opportunities – because they are the questions we haven’t found an answer to yet. The opportunity is to find that solution. It’s what you’re all doing already in your business – you work it out the hard way and share your experience. Or you do some research, or consult an expert in the field that solves your problem.

So it goes without saying, but I will anyway… if you were to listen to these problems being shared, and can develop an answer. You could have a product or service that is very much in need. If people need what you have, they buy it – they want to fix their problem too. 

If your customers have a problem, which you will only discover by listening, you can work out what your next move could be. It might be something small – iron out a process, deliver a better matched service. It could also be something new that someone else hasn’t thought of yet.

Opportunity knocks, my friends! Make this part of your research, your business strategy, and planning your marketing efforts. There’s inspiration waiting for you.