Finding Opportunity In Adversity

Smart people make money when times are good. Rich people make money when times are bad.

The housing market has been doing great for the last few years. When it starts going down (as all things that go up eventually do), two kinds of people will emerge; those that have sold and moved on to the next wave, and those that get slammed into the rocks as the housing wave reaches the beach.

The great thing about a crashed market is; it will go back up again.

Opportunity Is Not Price Alone

You have to be able to turn a great deal into great profitability.

Let’s say you’ve found an incredible opportunity to buy a fleet of Smart Cars for 30% off their value. Great bargain. For an around-town documents courier service. But not for a furniture moving company.

How many people do you know with garages full of great bargains? An opportunity has two parts; the buy and the sell. If you can’t use it or move it, it’s not much of an opportunity.

The Opportunity Network

Everyone comes across a great buying opportunity occasionally. To get a lot of those opportunies requires having a large network of contacts. Even more important, a large network gives you a much better chance of taking a great buy and selling it – turning it into a real and profitable business opportunity.

Turning Bad Times Into Good Times

A Property Example:

When the housing market is going down and people are trying to get out, it’s not a great time to buy. The time to buy is when a wave is forming and the price starts rising … BUT, if you have a use for the property or you can find a buyer in your network who really needs a certain kind of property, there’s an opportunity.

A Smart Car Example:

Maybe your furniture moving company can’t use a fleet of Smart Cars. But maybe someone in your network can. Maybe the company you lease all your trucks from knows a documents courier company. If you can use your network to create an opportunity, then rather than being a diversion from your normal business operations, you’re increasing your own value in your network.

A Business Example:

Smart business people are always looking at failing companies. Failing companies can be a great bargain. If you see a way to reduce expenses or increase sales through your own network to make the company profitable, you’ve just found a great opportunity. And most of the elements you need to run the company are already in place. It can be a lot easier than starting from scratch.

Opportunity Broker 

Finding a lot of business opportunities in bad situations is like being a broker. You can specialize in a specific industry or you can dabble in all sorts of things. Mostly what you’re doing is brokering deals by using your amazing network to find sellers with great bargains and match them up with buyers willing to pay favorable prices.

Many great bargains come from sellers in a less than favorable financial position. That adversity always brings opportunity for those who can pick up the pieces and put them together.