Good entrepreneurs can always spot opportunities. There are plenty you can chase and there will always be more than you can pursue, given the time and resources you have. Selecting the best opportunities to target is a skill. Once a decision is made, then what?
When an opportunity opens up, there is an optimum time window to exploit it. Whether that’s a short period or long one, if you miss that window, the opportunity is diminished or disappears completely. Opportunities need to be “jumped on”.
Yet. as an entrepreneur you have other responsibilities that need to be managed and can’t be neglected. So how will you be able to focus on the new opportunity? Here are some strategies.
1. If the opportunity requires urgent action or has a narrow window, you may need to devote your complete attention. You’ll have to toss everything aside until the necessary effort is completed. To be able to use tunnel vision focus you’ll need a solid support staff to back you up.
2. If tunnel vision isn’t possible, you may need to identify parts of your business that can be temporarily ignored to free up the time you need seize the opportunity. This requires weighing the costs of dropping the ball in one area vs. the benefits gained by the opportunity. It’s a simple cost-benefit analysis.
3. If neither of those options make sense, you may decide to create extra time in your day with a combination of starting early and working late – times when you won’t be distracted or interrupted. This is a good option if regular hours are usually a bit chaotic.
4. If operations are running smoothly, a better choice might be to use the extra time to get the daily work out of the way early and free up regular hours to focus on the new project.
Whichever strategy you choose, you always need to be alert to new opportunities and be prepared to grab the right ones for your business, while never jeopardizing the other important things going on.
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