For many new entrepreneurs, every opportunity seems to be an exciting one because any opportunity is better than none. But, for many new entrepreneurs who have not developed the skills to stick to a strategic path, taking the wrong opportunity can take you away from achieving your goals. Losing focus in a business can be a costly mistake and managing opportunities responsibly will become a tough yet necessary lesson to learn.
There are many reasons why an unfocused entrepreneur is likely to struggle for survival and miss out on the right opportunity to grow their business. Today, there are so many distractions and market pressures for a creative, brilliant and energetic entrepreneur. Having these qualities is not enough to be successful and can actually be the Achilles heel to an entrepreneurial dream. Responsible opportunity management is a strategy to help entrepreneurs develop a stronger sense of focus that aligns to the goals of the business and the entrepreneur.
Here are a few tell-tale signs of an unfocused entrepreneur:
- Having many business ideas with no plans and not starting a single one
- Having multiple marketing plans and only succeeding on a few
- Meeting with too many people from unrelated markets
- Constantly changing your brand, products or service, and not listening to the needs of your customer
- Starting each day with too many unrelated tasks that do not grow your business
- Thinking every person should buy from you
Here are five steps to practice responsible opportunity management in your business.
- Align your vision and mission strategies. Check your path regularly and practice self-reflection by aligning your vision and mission to your overall goals. Once developed, use this as a gauge to know if it fits within your strategy. This is where a sounding board can come in handy to bounce ideas and opportunities with someone external to your business.
- Practice effective decision-making. To make a proper decision, you must always collect all the information necessary to ensure you make the right choice. Question everything and challenge your assumptions. This can be in the form of a SWOT analysis or a simple pros and cons list to help you visualize the opportunity before deciding.
- Develop emotional intelligence. Get comfortable with hearing and saying “no.” Let go of the emotional baggage that comes with rejection and think of this as self-care. Goals take time to achieve and by practicing strong emotional resilience you will be able to see with more clarity when an opportunity is not right for your business. Also, track your success regularly; this will also help you understand where you did the right thing to keep attracting the right opportunities.
- Communicate effectively. Sometimes, new opportunities can be exciting, and that excitement can cloud judgment. When you have a clear strategy developed, it will help you communicate your needs better. Practice saying what you mean, what you need, and ask questions. In business meetings where a deal is being negotiated, try writing this down to ensure you do not miss a beat.
- Build your capacity. Again, new opportunities can be exciting, but are you truly ready for them? Know your gaps in your knowledge of yourself and your business. Capitalize on your strengths and delegate your weaknesses to help you. Finding partners to help you fill gaps is a great way to take advantage of opportunities that can help you grow your business when the opportunity is too good to pass up.
Remember, as a new entrepreneur, your time, money and energy are valuable resources and not every opportunity is worth your investment. But, by following responsible opportunity management, you will always know if the juice is worth the squeeze in each opportunity.
EDGAR RAFAEL OLIVO is a bilingual business educator, economic advisor, and contributor for several media outlets. He’s a nonprofit executive who is passionate about education. He is certified in finance and data analytics and holds a business degree from Arizona State University.
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