Land of Opportunities

Written by Roberto Swift

There are multiple ways to look at a situation. One way is there is a problem, a wall an obstacle. Another here is an opportunity. As Entrepreneurs and investors grow they become really good at spotting good and bad opportunities.

One of my favorite tv shows is Shark Tank. In this show entrepreneurs pitch their idea to several investors. These investors then decide if they want to invest in the company or not. One of my favorite things about this show is that these investors can see a problem as an opportunity and vice versa.

For example, one episode the inventors of the "fat-cat" cat feeder came into the shark tank with their product. They explained that it was a feeder that helps your cat lose weight by portioning out the food. After researching they found that cats are obese due to not being active, so therefore if you can have them be more active you could help them lose weight. The inventors created the "fat-cat" to help with the problem, but the investors saw an opportunity to invest based on a different problem.

The investors explained that cats had several health problems including bone issues and joint pain, so they saw this as of chance to invest in a product that would help reduce these problems for the cat. They believed being able to get more exercise, which was a small task, could help reduce these problems for the cat.

Each problem has multiple ways to be looked at and can have two or more different opportunities behind them.

There are lots of opportunities around us. We just have to find the right once that match our goals and purposes.

We only have 24 hours in a day but we can leverage other people experience, effort and resources. One person cannot run 50 restaurants but a staff of 1,000 can. An entrepreneur may not have the time to write a book but he could pay an author to write the majority of the book.

Let's say all you have is a brilliant idea and no way to make money from it. You could go sign up for an app creation site and they would help you create a mobile app for your idea. In this case the company has the resources to make an app and you have the idea.

There are lots of opportunities to make money but there are even more ways to leverage other people time and effort to make money for you or your company.

The question is how will you look at problems, situations and opportunities around you? Will you see it as a problem or as an opportunity?