Identifying business opportunities takes awareness and perspective

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, then build a door”

—Milton Berle

There are many famous quotes and sayings regarding opportunity. I’m sure you can rattle off a couple of your favorites at any moment’s notice. In business, opportunities are sought after much like the golden ticket in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Every chocolate bar is purchased and opened with the anticipation of catching a glimpse of gold glimmer peeking through the wrapper and revealing the “opportunity” of a lifetime! Isn’t it funny that a trip to a chocolate factory can still be considered an opportunity of a lifetime for some even today? Well, I discovered my golden ticket of opportunity, and it wasn’t wrapped around a chocolate bar. It was hatched right outside my door.

Notice Your Opportunities

Not long ago, I noticed the makings of a crudely constructed bird’s nest carefully engineered to sit within the wreath hanging on the front door of my home. At the time, I really didn’t feel I made a major discovery, to be quite honest. A bird nesting is a pretty common fact of life, so I moved on with the rest of my day and didn’t think much about it.

How many times has this happened to you in business? Take a moment to reflect on how you react when you encounter something new in technology, social media or leadership. Do you take the time to stop and explore how it could help you or your business improve? Or do you simply hit your mental delete button and send to trash? Most successful entrepreneurs are instinctively highly self-motivated and open-minded to new and fresh opportunities. However, with the increasing amounts of information, connections and communication streaming through us daily, we can still lose sight of opportunities that could potentially advance our business and, ultimately, transform our lives.

Expect the Unexpected

A few days after the initial bird’s nest sighting, I have to admit, I was a little curious, so I decided to take a peek in the nest. I wasn’t expecting to see much other than more bits of twigs and leaves. But before I could swing the door completely open, I was abruptly squawked away by the nesting mother bird. She was posed for attack and staring right in my direction. I quickly shut the door and proceeded out the house through the garage for the next three weeks, so as not to instigate any more confrontations. Mother bird reminded me of a valuable lesson I learned early in life: Expect the unexpected.

This is so true in business. If you’re not careful, you could squawk away good customers or trusted vendors by not being prepared for anything that may come your way. Little did I know my golden ticket of opportunity had just peeped its way into my life!