Will You Be Ready When Opportunity Knocks? 👩‍💼🎱🚪

How many opportunities have you missed because you weren't ready?

Do you know?

It’s not a ridiculous question. We spend so much time with our heads down, checking off tasks, it’s easy to forget about the big picture.

This week, I want to talk about how to set yourself up so you’re ready when opportunity knocks.

Let’s start with the basics.

What would you do if ten people showed up asking to hire you?

Have you even thought about it?

Can you juggle more than one client at a time?
Is your on-boarding process automated or you do have to do everything manually?
Do you have an alternative offer for people you can’t help right now? (Think recorded webinars, downloadable workbooks. )

What would you do if your content went viral?

Have you even thought about it?

Can your website handle it? (Many budget hosts limit bandwidth and will take your site down if you have a sudden spike in traffic, even if it’s below your plan threshold.)
Do you have an email signup/free download to capture contact information?
How about a ‘when I go viral’ marketing plan?

You can’t make a blog or social media post go viral, but you can make a plan for how to capitalize on your 5 minutes of fame when it happens.

These are things small business owners like us dream about, but how many of us plan for it?

How do you prepare for unexpected opportunities?

There are three key components to being prepared for new opportunity.

Time
Money
Infrastructure

Sometimes, you can get by with one of them, but most times, it’s going to be a combination of all three.

Time: You can find more time by automating or delegating tasks that don’t require your personal attention. In both cases, it’s going to require an outlay of money to either pay someone or subscribe to a platform that can handle all those repetitive tasks.

Money: Nobody wants to miss their chance when Lady Luck calls. The easiest way to ensure you have cash on hand for an unexpected opportunity is to make it a budget item. You may not have thousands of dollars to put in a someday/maybe fund, but you can commit to putting aside a small percentage of every sale. It may not be a lot today, but it adds up quickly.

Infrastructure: Prepare for your best-case scenario by setting up systems and streamlining procedures. This is both physical infrastructure and soft infrastructure, like software, systems, and cloud services.

If you’re a one person team, consider finding a friendly competitor who is willing and able to take your overflow or partner with you for specific projects.

Don’t be afraid to spend money.

DIY and budget tools can be a lifesaver when you’re starting out, but they are often limited and require hands-on attention. If you can afford to upgrade some of those tools to a more comprehensive service that does more, do it.

Nobody really knows when it will happen, but following these tips to be ready the next time a new opportunity pops up.

Categories: newsletter, opportunity, success, video