Jane and I had an interesting discussion yesterday about finding opportunities and why some people have a nack for them and others don’t.? I think it comes down to thinking outside-the-box and persistence.? A great example of finding opportunities where none seem to exist can be found in a recent post by entrepreneur Tyler Cruz.? He is a web publisher in constant search of opportunities online.?
Tyler came across a person wanting to sell a premium domain name.? His initial thought was to place an offer on it, which he did at $10,000.? Since the offer was well below the value it was rejected.? At this point, most people would give up and go back to their daily routine.? Tyler thought outside-the-box and did not stop there. Knowing he has a strong rolodex of contacts, he asked the seller to allow Tyler to try to broker the domain sale. A couple of months later, Tyler found a seller and matched them up with the buyer, earning himself a nice 5 figure payday.
“I now have this extra bit of money which essentially came out of thin air – sure, I had to work and network around to receive it, and while I feel confident that I did a decent job of trying to sell it, all in all I didn?t put many hours in if you add them all up. And I didn?t have to sell anything? all I had to do was put in a little bit of time, and of course? grasp the opportunity! I now have $23,000 to show for it. ” From TylerCruz.com
I agree that you’ve got to think out of the box to find opportunity, but you have to admit that most of the time, taking that risk leads to failure. Opportunity also takes a lot of persistence and a lot of luck . . . much like playing texas hold’em =) I know I’ve taken my fair share of risks by going against the grain, but for me it’s more about the journey than the destination. Also, Tyler’s newfound money is also an example of the power of networking – great inspiration.
Gary – true, but you may also be fearing risk. In the domain example above, what did I really risk? A bit of time, no doubt, but nothing else. The real question is: can you afford to risk not taking a chance.
Tyler – I agree. I guess I didn’t articulate my response well enough. I meant to say that the only way to succeed is to take a chance and if we play the numbers, the more chances you take, the more likely you are to succeed.
To me, the “risk” is jumping into new things and learning as much as I can about them.
Every business venture starts with the people. You need the right people (with the right knowledge, skills, and networks). Then you need a plan. Then you need to execute that plan.
If you you have a great idea but don’t have the knowledge or skill to form and execute a plan to turn that idea into something, then there is no opportunity.
Taking (calculated) risks teaches you more about something than playing it safe does. It’s that experience that allows you to create opportunities where others see none.