What Works: Hunting down opportunities
Submitted by editor on Mon, 04/21/2014 - 9:18am
This past weekend we celebrated Easter, a holiday filled with family, renewal and hope for the future. The hallmark of the holiday, for kids, is the Easter egg hunt, where they run as fast as they can and look for eggs with hidden treasures inside.
Easter egg hunts are fun for the kids, and parents who love to hide things in creative spots. But they also remind me of something else, our ability to hunt down, crack open, and eat up all the tasty opportunities that come our way. Opportunity comes in many forms. Some opportunities are like Easter eggs, hidden until you look for them and try to find them. This is the type of opportunity I will discuss this week.
When it feels like fortune isn’t knocking on your door, consider that maybe it is. Sometimes action is necessary to uncover the sweetness that is just out your front door.
Here are a few ways to uncover opportunity:
1) Check in on your customers. Ask them what they would like to see your business do that is new and different.
2) Pick up the phone. Simply having a conversation, topic unknown, can uproot hidden opportunity. Hey, it’s how this column happened!
3) Leave the house/office! Although we live in an online world, real connection is still made face to face. Strike up a conversation at a coffee shop. Attend a community event.
4) Set a quota. Make it your goal to pass out 5 business cards a day to the people you meet. Make sure it’s a REAL pass. Make sure something in the conversation sparked a possible need for what you offer.
5) Try something new! Try out a new hobby, sport, or community activity. Intentionally broaden your social circle through new pursuits and you may soon find opportunities pursuing you as well.
Once you find opportunity, don’t be afraid to say yes to it. If you are presented with something you cannot do, find someone who can and spread the good will with a referral. Opportunity will circle back to you in one way or another.
How will you seek out opportunity today? The floor is yours, Carson City.
ABOUT DIANE HANSEN
Diane Hansen is the Chief Inspiration Officer of What Works Coaching, a coaching firm that has helped people worldwide with their businesses, careers, mindsets, and profit margins. She brings to Carson City more than 17 years of experience with a wide array of clients, ranging from top corporations, motivated entrepreneurs and individuals hungry for a fresh start. Her column appears every Monday on Carson Now.
