I remember walking to Trader Joes several years ago after a long bout of market research and thinking to myself, “There aren’t any opportunities.” It was an inconsequential moment, but the frustration inherent in that realization seared it into my brain.
Last week, I was doing research on how we might optimize some of our marketing tactics. I began to see the glimmer of an opportunity with a tactic and grew excited as I explored possibilities. And then I hit a wall: someone had already discovered and capitalized on it (ironically, a competitor we share a client with.)
I thought back to that moment on the sidewalk outside Trader Joes and said to myself, “still no opportunities.”
We exist in a highly competitive environment abundant with solutions. That doesn’t mean that you need to hang up your hat though. Though it’s rare you’ll discover opportunities, you can create them.
Created opportunities are a transformation of what is available and possible. They have no starting competitors, because they’re brand new and rely on your experience, insight, and capability.
This isn’t to say that creating opportunities is easy. Just because you’re applying yourself to a problem, doesn’t change the constraints.
For example, years ago, I figured out that web services directories could be a good source for leads. Today, directories are packed with competitors. Even if I wanted to optimize this tactic, there’s no getting around that we can’t compete with the established players sitting at the top of a directory’s search results.
However, I might create an opportunity by replicating the directory’s marketing. Rather than competing with thousands of service providers on a directory, I would be competing with a couple of directories. Additionally, directories provide an abundant amount of public information about what clients like. Repurposing some of this in the form of a paid ad could be a powerful created opportunity.
Creativity is the foundation for any successful approach to opportunity. When you hit the wall, and you will, being able to shift your perspective to create doorways is what will empower you to transcend the constraints that limit others.
Image credit: The painted door by byronv2 used under the CC BY-NC 2.0 license.