Looking at problems as opportunities
Businesses, big or small, are essentially solution-providers. People have various problems, and you sell your ideas on how to solve them – if they like it, they’ll buy it. Today, the global economic crisis seems daunting, but entrepreneurs should look at it rather as an opportunity. There is an abundance of problems to be solved. Can you offer solutions?
The thing is, the world has changed after Wall Street’s collapse last year. People are more conscious of their wallets and credit card statements. Impulsive buying has taken a back seat to intensive online research. Gadgets are being kept longer before upgrading. DIY-ing is becoming fashionable again while being wasteful is a no-no. Living in a tiny house is trendy while McMansions are frowned upon. Being cheap is now a virtue. How do you do business in an environment that’s so far from the decades of reckless spending preceding it?
As is well-known in evolution, organisms need to adapt to their environment to survive. The same principle holds true here. Entrepreneurs have to adapt their thinking to the times, it’s unique problems and solutions. For example, people will still need cars, but since it’s a big ticket purchase, they’ll probably hold out on buying a new one for now. That means more trips to the repair shops rather than car dealers. The same can probably be said for household appliances and computers. If you own a shop that resells consumer electronics, you might want to start adding repair services to keep afloat.
You might also try to offer no-frills versions of existing products and services. People are happier today about spending less as long as it gets the job done, rather than having to pay extra for cool but non-essential add-ons. A clear example of this is the popularity of netbooks – small, low-powered laptops that can run Windows (or any of your favorite OS) and do most computing tasks all for an average price of about $400. That’s the sort of value for money consumers are looking for.
You may be short on resources, but a bright spot is that because the prices of most commodities have fallen, there are many bargains to be had if you know where to look. Donald Trump was on Larry King recently and he said he’s having a field day acquiring property at unbelievably low prices. You may not be as rich as he is (yet) to play with real estate, but there’s sure to be something out there for you, whether it’s used clothes, books, or other gear. Doing buy and sell on eBay may not be such a bad idea.
So, picked a problem to tackle yet?
Share your thoughts!!!