Did Someone Say Opportunity
Always. There are always opportunities. They are just not the same as the ones all the courses are selling you about Alibaba, Amazon, Etsy, Ebay. I’m not saying there are none, there are always chances to make money on those spaces. It’s nowhere near as easy as it was though and you have to be very special to stand out on any of those platforms now.
Is the answer starting another platform to let people get a stronghold onto, because no-one can get a look in on the others? NOOOOOOOOO.
The answer is to stand out with your unique ability to solve a problem in a way that has not been done before.
AND
DO NOT OUTSOURCE THIS PRODUCT TO CHINA – PERIOD.
It’s tempting to do this, but your new shiny product will be replicated and sold off, undercutting yours and your idea will be gone. First to market is always great and you can try to hold onto your authenticness, your originality, but the market i.e. consumers, will always, (mostly) buy the cheaper version of the same thing.
Where do I see opportunities?
If I had my cash back again tomorrow, I would double down on a commercial kitchen and just send food out on Uber Eats. I wouldn’t even bother with a retail store front. I would offer the food I was making directly through that channel and through my website with just a small counter for people to come pick up their food if they wanted to. No seating. I would also offer coffee with purchase. Uber Eats are pretty adamant that coffee does not work on their platform, but I beg to differ on this.
If you don’t have high rental on your premises and you just have a machine, coffee is viable on that platform. People, unbelievably, will pay the extra $5.00 to have it delivered to them. So instead of your different sizes, the median being about $4.50 in Brisbane for a medium, you mark it up to $5.50 to cover your 35% to Uber. Now if the consumer wants a coffee they will buy it, trust me on this. But usually they will justify it by adding some food to it as well. A muffin, or salad or sandwich and there’s your sale.
Uber Eats are going to totally take over this space within a few years. There are those who won’t use it for everyday lunches, disgusted in fact that people are so lazy they will pay an extra $5.00 for delivery, but they haven’t been sick at home unable to move and hungry. They will use it eventually. The circumstances just haven’t arisen for them.
Where else?
Everywhere there is a problem, there is a need for a solution. Solve a problem. THEN make your own sales channels. Do not rely on distributors. For everyone they can reach, you can now reach through social and search engines. The middle man distributors are doing to disappear within the next 10 years. I’m usually wrong with my timelines, so adjust that to 5 years. It’s not going to be long. These industries are so huge at the moment, they won’t be able to pivot quickly. You can. Make a product, make an ingredient of a product, and sell directly to your consumer. Don’t have tiered pricing. Just sell it for what it is worth.
Let’s talk about home services for a minute. There was a huge push onto these because people are so busy living their extraordinary lives that they are outsourcing everything, the garden, the laundry, the grocery shopping – everything. This outsourcing relies on employment and income. Double income families are too busy to, or elect not to, engage in the drudgery of everyday life. They can afford to outsource the menial tasks, to spend more time with family. Admirable. The key word here is AFFORD.
Let’s imagine a world in 5 years, just for a second. I have a great book recommendation for you regarding this, but stick with me for a second. Artificial Intelligence has replaced a significant amount of office jobs. Those pesky clerical jobs, the account and banking reconciliations, the bill comparisons, the deal comparisons, the insurance claims, the legal briefings, the search engine results, just to name a few. All of these ‘jobs’ are gone now. Factories and manufacturing streamlined with robotic lines. Coal industry is finished, mining is slowed.
Where are people going to work? What will they be doing? The transition is going to be harsh and fast within the next 5 – 10 years and the service industries that were supposedly booming, are not going to be. People simply won’t be able to afford them. The shift to the wealthy who can afford them will always be there, but so will the competition for them.
Look ahead. Way ahead. Understand what and who you are up against and position yourself there. Five years down the track. Read this book. Opportunities will jump out at you and trust me, write them down as they do and then, then research and reflect and execute.
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The book I mentioned is The Inevitable – Understanding the 12 technological forces that will change our future by Kevin Kelly (editor of Wired Magazine)
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