A true entrepreneur looks out their window and sees the potential in everything. The other day, I was walking along a strip mall and noticed how many businesses had closed their doors. Some people would see that and feel sad for the business owners who were no longer in business.
I can see that, but I also saw beyond that and immediately started to consider the possibilities that these vacant store- front locations could provide.
The same holds true when you look out into the online world and see just how many web sites are no longer online. Again, there are new possibilities opening up all the time.
For one, it’s easier now to find a great domain name as so many “cyber-squatters” can no longer afford to hang onto their domain portfolios and other online entrepreneurs are dumping domains they have held for years, but have never used.
There are also many new possibilities opening up now for new- comers as the market is desperately seeking new ideas, new strategies, and better, more effective ways of earning a living.
In many ways, the timing could not have been better. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, and the others) have changed the online marketing game in significant ways and just in time too!
I’m seeing many new faces who are now able to quickly share books, ideas, links, videos, and more that were previously unable to do much more online than digest other people’s content.
The conversation has changed. The web is a very different place today than it has been, and there are many new voices out there ready, willing, and now able to share their thoughts and ideas with the rest of the world.
And it gets even better. With so many new voices, the traditional media channels are dying a slow and painful death, much like the newspapers that so dominated the media until the last decade. Devices like the iPad make the newspaper completely obsolete.
Look for major changes to continue over the next few years. I’m sorry if you’re not the type that loves change, but change is the only constant in life, and with change comes possibility.
The point here is that while many doors have closed and many more are now closing, there are just as many opening up. Your best approach now is to start asking the kinds of questions that open new doors.
The landscape has changed, and there are many new ways to earn a living, more openings for new-comers, more great domains available, and a hungry marketplace that’s looking for something fresh and new.
The good news is that the days ahead will bring new people to the forefront with new ideas, new energy, and much more passion too.
Keep your eyes open because there is no telling who will rise to the top next. It could very well be YOU! On a personal note, I too have been making a lot of changes in terms of the work that I do, what I teach, and the people that I serve.
I’m doing what I suggest you do at this point and that is to take a fresh look at those you serve (or wish to serve) and start asking more and more questions about what they need, where they want to go, and what they feel is keeping them from getting there.
I know that one of my favorite gifts is that I can see what’s coming long before it gets here. For instance, I knew back in 1980 when I got my very first computer at age 16 that this thing would change our world. I knew things would change again when I got online back in 1984 for the very first time. I embraced these changes while many others ran from them and considered them to be nothing more than a “fad.”
Before I knew it, I had risen to the top of a field that had yet to be defined. People stated calling me an “Internet Marketer” as early as 1993, when most people thought of the Internet as being America Online.
Embrace the changes that are now happening. Realize that much of what you read about has a focus on what’s wrong with the change. Learn to look for what possibilities the changes present and then jump on them as fast as you can.
Looking back, I would have jumped onto e-mail marketing a lot sooner if I could do it all again. I was about 2 years late on that one. Had I started marketing via e-mail in 1993 instead of 1995…
My point is that the people who will be the most successful in the years ahead are those that choose to look for the possibilities instead of staying focused only on the consequences.
Change is constant, and necessary for growth. Change opens new doors, creates new possibilities, and gives new people a chance to thrive.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.