How to spot business opportunities

How to spot business opportunities

Unless you know what you’re looking for, knowing how to spot business opportunities can be tricky. The good news is, there are a few tricks you can put into practice that may help you seize an opportunity at the first chance. Keep reading to find out more.

Identify a problem and find a solution

More often than not, some of the best way to spot business opportunities is to start off with a problem. So, if you can strip back this disguise, you might be onto something big and exciting for your brand – all you need to do is find a suitable solution.

To help you do this, you could start by taking a look at the current market to see what type of products and services other businesses are offering. Think about what problem these companies are trying to solve and whether or not you could provide an even better solution for the customer. You may find that there’s a gap in the market that you could fill by acting fast and grabbing the chance when you see it.

Give yourself a sense of direction

In the business world, you can’t just sit back and expect an amazing opportunity to pop up when you’re least expecting it. You need to go out and there and find it – but how will you find ‘it’, if you don’t know what ‘it’ is?

Instead of shifting responsibility, it’s worth putting yourself in full control of the situation and giving yourself a sense of direction. Ask yourself, ‘what type of opportunities am I  looking for?’ and ‘how will I  find them?’. Then, start by simply writing down what you want to achieve. This should give you an extra motivation boost and point you in the right direction – you never know what doors might open for you and your business. 

Open yourself up to collaboration

You may consider yourself to be a lone wolf, but in the business world, this type of attitude isn’t going to get you very far. As the saying goes, “there’s no ‘I’ in team”, and the truth is, when you work collaboratively with those around you, being able to spot business opportunities are endless. Networking with those closest to you and your business has the potential to propel you to greater heights, and you’re bound to hear some great ideas that may turn into brilliant opportunities on your way up.

From attending networking events to setting yourself up on social media, take the time to build relationships with those in the know. You never know what opportunities may arise through the people you meet.

How to analyse a business opportunity

So you’ve established a brilliant opportunity for your brand, but what happens next? You’ll need to analyse the idea to make sure it’s the perfect fit for your business. To learn more about what you should focus on first, keep reading.

Identify the strengths and weaknesses

Once you spot business opportunities, it can be tempting to just run with them. But, before you get ahead of yourself, it’s important to take the idea(s) and identify the strengths and weaknesses. You wouldn’t want to waste time, money and effort on a lead that could end up being bad news for your business, so it’s worth assessing the idea fully before you put it into action.

When analysing the strengths and weaknesses of your new idea, you may want to also question if it’s financially viable, and if it gives you an edge on your competitors. If the answer is no to either of these questions, this is a major weak point, and it may end up not being worth your while. 

Check out the current market and your competition

To gain a better understanding of the potential success of your opportunity, you must check out the market and, most importantly, your competition. Try and obtain as much information as you can about what else is out there and how it might impact your new business idea.

Take a look at the size of the market and where you see yourself fitting into it. Is the current market attractive for your particular product or service? What are the future trends and how might this affect you? Researching these areas will help you understand where you’ll fit amongst your competitors and what you need to do to put yourself ahead of them.

Think about how you’ll turn your idea into reality

It’s all well and good if you’ve seized a brilliant opportunity for your business – but is it feasible? How will you turn it into reality? You’ll need to ensure you’re equipped with the right tools to manage new business leads and integrate them into your business model. If not, you could risk missing out.

One way to avoid this is by using a lead management system. FLG offers an easy-to-use platform to help you turn your business ideas into a reality in a streamlined, effective and efficient way.

Written by Lauren Shaw, Marketing Manager at FLG.