When I was growing up, I was told by my parents, my school teachers and just about every adult I came in contact with that: - opportunity knocks only once.
And when it knocks, if you don’t grab this opportunity, it’s gone forever.
Do you believe that?
In a gentler era, it was assumed that you waited for opportunity to knock.
Unless you were Henry Ford, a Rockefeller, a Morgan, Andrew Carnegie. Or any of the giant industrialists of the early 20th century.
Why did people assume that these industrialists were in a class of their own and been given special qualities that separated them from mortal men in business?
They really were special, and would be considered special today, but not for their esoteric qualities, but for their ability to look for unseen opportunities, grab them and develop them. With complete disregard to their consequences.
They were ruthless and often dishonest. Their tactics coined the term ‘Robber Barons'. It was the days of the wild west of business.
Like the internet is today. No regulations and anything goes.
Their mystique emanated from their extreme wealth. Wealthy beyond the ability of normal people to comprehend. And therefore, the public enshrined them as members of a very special and select club.
Very little was published about business success in the early 20th century, and probably not many people were interested in it. The average business was still a mom and pop shop. Grocers, drapers, butchers, bakers, green grocers, coopers, farriers, the ice man, candle makers, barbers, tailors, dressmakers, shoemakers, snake oil salesmen. Businesses built on either a locally required trade or service.
The thirst for business knowledge had its awakening in the 1970’s, when the business world started to become more competitive. When globalisation was still an embryo.
This was the era of Mother England cutting its ties with Australia. Suddenly business was faced with finding their own markets, rather than just selling their commodities and products to an agent, who forwarded everything to England, and what happened after that was of no concern to Australia. Until the cheques stopped arriving.
To say business scurried to find their feet is an understatement. Consultants of every type crawled out of the woodwork, giving advice to an ignorant community hungry for information about ‘how to do’ just about everything past the production stage.
There was such a demand for the instant fix, the snake oil salesmen were resurrected.
Initially, this thirst for knowledge was confined to large business.
Small business had yet to experience the effect of a super store on every corner. This was still the glory days of word of mouth being the main source of customers.
In the mid 1980’s, I distinctly remember the conversation at a dinner party given by the owner of a small, local travel agent, musing over an ad placed by her competitor. “Business must be bad, she announced, for Adele to be advertising.”
In the 1980’s, marketing was as alien a word to the vocabulary of small business as Al-Qaeda was to the western world in 2000. And only a large business would advertise. Or a small business in trouble.
That changed for my travel agent friend when Jet Set and Harvey World Travel started poaching her local clients. She was stunned, as she assumed they would never leave her. Then along came Flight Centre.
What does she do today?
What everyone in business has evolved to doing.
Not waiting for opportunity to knock on your door, but looking in every nook and cranny for an opportunity to latch onto, and call your own, before your competitor does.
It’s hard to believe in today’s competitive environment that a mere 30 years ago a gentler age existed where a shingle hung from the outdoor rafters of your place of business brought in customers.
A few facts.
The average customer today is bombarded with 30,000 sales messages a month. It takes 8.4 sales attempts before a customer/client has any idea who you are, let alone be ready to make a decision to buy from you.
Is this business environment today so competitive that opportunities are limited?
No!
Men and women in business who have survived the early stages of slash and burn are experts at finding opportunities. And they exist almost everywhere, if you’re prepared to do some hard work and develop market niches.
The world is too big for you to be a generalist. Leave that to Big W and Wal-Mart.
But you can be a specialist.
For instance, break your product market down into segments then break it down again and again until you discover the one niche that has a need and no one is filling it.
For example.
Butterfly Releases. Fill the sky with the release of beautiful butterflies to add a unique and memorable touch to your wedding day and other special occasions.
Simply Rose Petals. Simply Rose Petals grow and supply hand-picked specialty dried rose petals for wedding decorations, spa retreats, and wedding confetti. From the family farm in Australia, Sarah and Jan send rose petals all over the world. They were the first to do this.
The Swanky Hanky. Made in Mudgee NSW by 4 Corners Designs, these beautifully made hankies have perfectly mitred corners. And boutique shops clamour for them.
Do some research on the internet. Key in a market segment and see what comes up. And look past pages 1 and 2. These are the companies that are doing well. Pages 3 and backwards might just ignite the crucial spark of imagination that opens up a whole new niche for you.
What have other people discovered that you can take to greater heights?
And remember this. Just because a company isn’t doing well in their niche doesn’t mean it’s not viable. Some companies are just hopeless at marketing.
When we first started our business, we were shut out of the retail market. To get our product established, we took the alternative route of field days and home shows, because The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover was perfect for demonstrating.
I observed another exhibitor who was a master at demonstrations.
He took a product that languished on the shelves of retailers and turned it into a multi-million dollar business by demonstrating the versatility of the product. He bought the rights to the product and after 10 years on the road, retired before the age of 40 a very wealthy man.
What can you do with your business to turn it into a treasure trove of opportunities?
As a Guerrilla From The Bush, I can assure you there is a wealth of opportunities waiting for you to uncover. But it takes effort and that’s what takes you to places you never dreamed of.
I’d love you to post your comments and let’s see if we can help each other. Better yet, let’s have as many people as possible pitch in and share their experiences.
Take care,
CAROL
Carol Jones
Director
Interface Pty Ltd
The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover, Roadworks Apron, Log Lugger, Travel Bug Shoe Bag, Mr Chin’s Laundry Bag and Sweet Shoo are all simple solutions for difficult problems. And every one is a joy to use.
We’ve developed markets for these 6 products without national or international retail distribution. To see what we’ve achieved, click on our website at http://www.interfaceaustralia.com/.
Read the story of how our business began on The Ironing Board Cover Lady. No sales hype. Just a down home story about how we started our business on the dining room table of our rural property, driving on ‘L’ Plates, without an instructor.
A comment about LinkedIn. If you’re not a member of LinkedIn, when you click View Full Profile, you’ll be asked to join. It’s free and the option is yours. There are benefits to joining. Once you’re a member, you can key in the name of any person you do business with. If they’ve taken the trouble to complete a Profile, you’ll be able to assess their background, their capabilities and the calibre of person they are. You might be, as I am, often pleasantly surprised. So go have a look.
1 comment:
When we were researching 'Where To Retire In Australia' we kept on meeting people who were doing different and interesting things around Australia. Some people had developed a small business, others were engaged in profitable hobbies, some were actively involved in volunteering opportunities. We wrote 101 of these people up in our book 'Retire Bizzi'.
Some examples included Margaret Anutha, the founder of Naturally Tasmanian Tours. Margaret had moved to Hobart from Europe and couldn't get a job, despite her experience, so she created a walking tour company that has now expanded. I regularly use her drink bottle, labelled 'Naturally Tasmanian Tours' and think of what her efforts in creating her business.
Another couple in Melbourne 'babysit' businesses for their owners. They call themselves 'locum managers'. Some people are away and need someone to do the more mundance tasks in a business, whilst others need people to come into the business and run it. They are wanted because of their experience, reliability and knowledge.
The internet has created so many informational and marketing opportunities. Who would have thought years ago, you would be able to send mail via a computer?
One of the biggest things to face business owners is the marketing. I think that some people confuse terms such as 'marketing', 'public relations', 'networking', 'selling' and advertising? One accountant told me once that he just sends out a newsletter when he thinks about it, hoping that his clients will tell their friends about his business!
Jill
http://www.where2now.net
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