When in the early days of the North American frontiersmen, who went searching for gold, few made any sort of living. They however needed shovels and many would adopt the services of prostitutes. In reality the shovel providers and the prostitutes made more money that the prospectors. They provided a back up service that kept the fortune hunters dreams alive.
In the age of digital marketing we see the same thing. Many people have online businesses and some are doing very well. However the people providing the tools and technology for running your online business are probably the most successful on line. Like goes to like.
When developing your business (and if you are struggling ) ask yourself Is this business where the money is? It might be that the sort of people you need to help you grow the business is actually the business you should be in. I know a business entrepreneur who manufactured curtains. It was a family firm that had a good history but had gone into decline.
One of the problems he encountered , he couldn’t get curtain accessories to service his product. At this point he decided to go into the accessory business and ditch the curtains. He discovered by running the curtain business the products that were actually in demand, were the curtain accessories where demand was high and supply was limited. Within eighteen months he had turned the business round and was earning a six figure income within four years.
Had that man not been in a failing business in the first place he would never have known what was in short supply. The rate of change in the working world is growing all the time. A technology that was developed five years ago will last less time than one that was developed fifty years ago. We must be constantly vigilant as to where the gold is round the corner and unfortunately to make it big there will be failures and setbacks on the way.
Peter.