May 2008

There are a lot of business books out there that talk about how large companies neglect to adapt while the world that made them big changes around them. Change in our world is inevitable, and it’s up to people to adapt to it to survive. I am always amazed at how little companies rapidly get large because of their ability to change with the world around them. I highly recommend anyone thinking about entrepreneurship to read the book “If it ain’t broke, break it!”.

This week I am making a change in my life that some people would think I was crazy to do. In fact, I know MOST people would think it “unwise”. The fact of the matter is that the world is changing around me and I have been doing nothing but watching and resisting. Much like the big companies who fail to make necessary changes with their customers needs and end up bankrupt, that is where I felt I was headed. This pudgandplum blog was built to help me understand the world of blogging better and to help me change and grow a little more with technology. The next step for me has come to now focus harder on the website portion. I have been in companies that done changes that have negatively affected the lives of those around them. I see a storm ahead for the company I work for and count my blessings that there are clear warning signs that give me just enough time to protect myself and get out of the way of the turmoil.

I believe that the news we see and hear everyday are also giving warning signs of the years to come. There is a great possibility that our nation will have very hard times ahead economically, and people are ignoring the warnings. It’s like being told you’re standing in a building that will fall in an hour and even though you can see and hear the cracks forming in the walls, you stay to say that it’s not your problem, someone else better stop it from collapsing because your not leaving for safety because it’s not convenient right now. In the end, you will fall with the building around you. At that point you can try to blame everyone around you, but the fact will remain you ignored the warning.

If you are in a job that has bosses above you who have the ability to lay you off, you need to protect yourself. Find a second source of income that can sustain you if you lose your job. Don’t be foolish to think that you are indispensable. Everyone can be replaced, yes, everyone…  As much as people think they are too precious, they’re not. If the company gets sold or closes it’s doors, it then doesn’t really matter how valuable you “thought” you were.

Look at what’s going on around you. See change for what it is. Ask yourself how can you make lives easier for people, or is there a problem you are noticing that a product you create could make it easier for others in their everyday lives? Look at your company from the inside out and ask yourself what could be done better, or what is the company missing that you could do on your own? Open your eyes, then open your mind.

I remember reading somewhere that everyone has a million dollar idea, but most will never know it, or have the guts to implement it. Starting today, I will start working hard on what I think is my million dollar idea. Will you start on yours?

This week I had eye surgery done to remove some scar tissue that started to cover my pupil. One of the rules I had to follow was that I could not eat anything after midnight until the surgery was over. My surgery ended at about 2pm, so needless to say I was starving, but nauseous from the surgery and having a patch on my eye. At this point I was amazed at how easy we live our lives here in the US. When we are hungry, we eat. At anytime, we can go and get food practically anywhere. There are hundreds of thousands of people in Burma and China who are starving and can’t get to food right now due to natural disasters. Of course, there are those in other areas who never have food or clean water at their disposal either. So here I am complaining about feeling a little sick, and a sense of guilt overwhelms me. I guess I also end up getting a little worried about what I would do if I couldn’t afford to eat or had access to food. Scary.

With that being said, I have no words of wisdom other than to say, maybe each of us should really be aware and thankful of the blessings we have. (and it might not hurt to prepare in case we have not)

This is a good article on how any positive news about our economy could be just a mirage.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080510/economic_mirage.html

I’ve been on a business sales trip again this past week. This time to Houston and drove out for a day to Austin. While meeting with clients, one thing I noticed was that all the business owners had other marketable skills that equaled, if not exceeded their current business, in other industries. It blew me away to see all of these VERY successful  entrepreneurs working on the side in things that were (in some cases) totally unrelated to their primary “bread and butter” businesses. On most occassions, these side ventures were definitely multi-million dollar ideas if marketed right.

The spirit of entrepreneurship is in their blood. It keeps them looking for opportunities to enhance their business, and sometimes better “new” ideas pop-up instead that seem logical to pursue. Many people know of the Post-it creator who was trying to create the ultimate adhesive and instead ended up marketing a super weak sticky stuff that makes itself removable on paper. Brilliant!

The lesson we all need to learn from this is that we all need to open our eyes and diversify our skills and knowledge better to create opportunity for ourselves. Never settle and be comfortable where you are or opportunity will pass you by. Think about what other things you have skills or interests in that could change the world completely for the better. If you don’t move on it first, someone else will.