I have two guitars in my office now. 

For a while, I just had one guitar in my office. Sometimes when people visited they would see it, ask if I played, and then would want to jam. Except, we had to pass the guitar back and forth. Meanwhile, I had another perfectly good guitar at home that I could be sharing. So I brought it in. And now two guitars will sit here until someone on my team learns to play or a guitar enthusiast visits. Either way, the opportunity now exists.

Why didn’t I see this opportunity sooner? I could have been connecting with people on a way deeper level. 

Man, what else am I missing out on? Are there more business opportunities I didn’t even consider yet?

Probably.

Maybe it’s something you have to learn over time – to have the kind of awareness, or hone in on that radar that propels you toward potential opportunities. I think opportunities flicker in our minds daily, sometimes getting overridden by the tasks we need to accomplish first. But, you need to make time to be present and take notice of what’s happening around you in business and your communication. For instance, when someone would ask if I played guitar upon seeing it, it was likely because they wanted to play together. That experience could nurture a friendship, or a business relationship.

Luckily, you don’t have to be a juke box hero to find and create new opportunities. Also important to recognize is that finding opportunities, and not being opportunistic, is a skill I learned over time. 

Now, it’s one thing to recognize or create opportunities. It’s another to take action and make good on that opportunity. Here are six steps to help you out:

Six simple steps to find more business opportunities

• Brainstorm – Get that spidey sense brewing! Leading up to brainstorming, make a cognizant effort to be more present in your daily interactions, with that “opportunity for improvement” radar cranking. You then can brainstorm alone, with your team, or in a mastermind group. 
• Survey – I love surveying my community because I’m truly interested in what the pain points and challenges are for our community of customers. I also love to hear about the successes they’ve had. When I hear what people need, or what has worked or not, I am better able to assess what opportunities I can create in my business to best serve.
• Make a map and implement a plan of action – I love to scribble. Take your idea for your new opportunity and map out which employees are responsible, what resources (time, money, platforms) are needed, and a timeline of expectation so that momentum is motoring along. No procrastinating on your glorious ideas!
• Measurement and data – How are those opportunities coming along? Make sure you have a metric to measure the performance of each new opportunity you create. This way you’ll know what can be changed or enhanced.

Remember, take notice of the recurring problems or opportunities that present themselves. Make a note in your business and anything you’re doing. What is the one thing you can do to improve that thing?

Maybe a great business idea will come out of it.

Maybe a new product or service will come out of it.

Maybe a way to jam out, or connect with someone will come out of it.

The lesson is, pay attention, see where the opportunity is, and take action.

You’ve Got This!

-Mike

PS – Send me your favorite song to jam out to!