If there’s one habit that will keep your business from going stagnant, it's seeking opportunities. Fortunately, industries never run out of new ideas. There will always be something that can help you expand your operations, broaden your customer base, and increase your profits. The challenge is how to pick from the sea of opportunities. If that’s your dilemma right now, you should evaluate if you have a great business opportunity on the way:
Clients
The people who do business with you will have great insights on whether you should push through with that new product or service. They might already be telling you what’s next for you. Refer to the feedback you received in the last months. What are people saying or complaining about? What are they asking? What are they telling you to improve on? If you can’t find any promising opportunity there, initiate a targeted discussion with clients or customers. Distribute surveys to them, both online and offline. Invite some and gather them in a huddle. Take advantage of the meeting rooms that Seattle hotels provide. It will be great if you can also involve the potential market. Their challenges and pain points will also help you in your decision-making.
Competitors
You should look at two kinds of competitors: the ones who target the same audience and promote the same products or services as you and the ones who offer a high or low-end version of what you provide. When looking at their strategies and efforts, you need to identify what they’re doing well and what they can do better. For instance, if you’re evaluating an opportunity to expand your product line, ask yourself what is it about your competitor’s current product selection that appeals to the market. From there, learn what is it that the audience is dissatisfied in. The insights you’ll get here will help you know if what you’re cooking up for your new product line will be promising or not.
Course (of the industry)
The trends in your field should also be something to watch out for. Whenever you’re planning to get into a new business opportunity, you should be asking, where is the industry headed? Of course, it’s hard to predict what will happen, but you can pay attention to "hints" to come up with a sensible image of the future of your industry. For instance, emerging technologies can tell you how businesses or market preferences will change. Pending laws can also influence the sector. So you need to be watchful of these factors. Read up on industry publications now and then. Meet up with your mentors and experts in the field regularly. Make it a habit to attend at least one excellent conference or seminar every month. This is how you sharpen your forward-thinking mindset.
In the end, there are so many excellent business opportunities out there, but it takes a discerning mind to know which one fits you best. Given all the factors mentioned, do you have a great business opportunity?
