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Be Where the Pucks Going To Be
The "Great One" said it best Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, when asked how he was always on the puck before anyone else, pointed out that he was by no means the fastest skater on the ice. Instead he explained that he always just focused on skating toward where the puck was going to be. Gretzky knew that if he couldn't be the fastest in the middle of the game, he would have to figure out how to stay ahead of the game. Sometimes trying to keep up in the middle of the game is a wasted effort, especially if you're not necessarily the fastest company in your market. Instead of wasting your energy trying to keep up with the big boys, think like Wayne and get your edge by moving ahead of the game. If you can't move faster, take a shortcut Taking a shortcut really means getting a sense for where the market will be at some point in time and heading in that direction now. It's a lot easier to defend a space before people start fighting for it, especially if no one else realizes it's valuable yet. Taking the shorter path allows you to get in early and pick up a lot of the low hanging fruit. Fortify your position Chances are you're going to have a limited amount of time before the competition realizes they also need to be where you are. You need to spend this valuable time fortifying your position as best you can with your available resources. If your business involves intellectual property that you can potentially patent, even provisional patent can be a valuable tool to ward off the competition. Additionally, you may be able to land some early customers with exclusive agreements that provide an effective barrier to entry to later participants. Keep in mind that you gain a potentially huge advantage from building early relationships in your space before your competition or your customers even know how big it could potentially be. Definitely take advantage of this. Stay ahead of the puck, not out of the game There is a big difference between being ahead of the puck, and being out of the game entirely. When thinking about where the market is headed, it's important to have a reasonable expectation of when the rest of the action will catch up to you. Sure, someday we'll all be flying around like George Jetson in hover cars, but before you build the next Spacely Sprockets to manufacture them, you may want to have a good guess when the future is going to show up at your doorstep. Often when you progress ahead of the existing market you get into a position where there few (if any) customers looking to buy. To avoid this, it's helpful to pick a point ahead of the game that gives you a first-to-market advantage but still leaves you enough room to do business in the with current customers. Startup companies are often strapped for cash, so being too far ahead of the curve without any ability to generate revenue while everyone catches up can be disastrous. Keep your eye on the game Like a hockey game, the business world is in constant flux. It's almost certain that the path of progress will change as time goes by. This is fine as long as you continue to adapt your position to fit the path. If you ignore the changes in the existing market you may find that the "market-leading" position you created for yourself is not ahead of the game, but rather in the wrong game altogether. Promote your early position A nice benefit to being "first to market" in a new segment is the ability to claim that title early on. Claiming your "number one" status early on will help you build your position among customers, investors and even competitors. Even later on when the market catches up you may still be able to use your "we were the first" claim to legitimize the forward looking position of your product and your business. Take your shot With the right timing and some careful planning you will find yourself in the right place at the right time, with a healthy lead on your competition. This means it's no longer time to "plan for the market" but instead to execute on all of the planning you have put in place. Don't hesitate here. Your early lead is only valuable if you use it to not only get ahead of the market, but stay ahead of the market. Keep Moving Some companies make their legacy from making one move ahead of the market at the right time and reaping the rewards for a lifetime. Short of making such a lucky move, you're going to have to keep looking for new opportunities to take shortcuts and play ahead of the game. Hey, it worked for Wayne. - Wil Wil Schroter is a serial entrepreneur, author, and public speaker. Wil has been recognized as U.S. Small Business Person of the Year, twice as the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year (1999 & 2004), and is a member of the Business First Top 40 under forty. Connect directly with Wil at wschroter@yahoo.com. Visit http://www.goBIGnetwork.com.
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news Myanmar's Suu Kyi to get family letters, news mags (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has managed to wring small concessions from the ruling generals in the form of letters from her family and some international news magazines, her lawyer said on Friday. JCDecaux in talks for News Outdoor Group in Russia (AP via Yahoo! News) French outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux SA said Thursday it is negotiating to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. News Corp tightens grip on Premiere with new CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Rupert Murdoch tightened his grip on German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere by appointing News Corp executive Mark Williams as CEO in a move to get the company back on track. SEC Looks Into UAL Stock Scare; Implications For Online News? (CBS News) A ton of digits have been devoted to this in other spots but the SEC's decision to investigate takes it to another level. The backstory: a six-year-old news story about UAL declaring bankruptcy made it into the Tribune-owned Sun-Sentinel 's current news flow, was picked up by a Google (NSDQ: GOOG) News bot and, via a reporter for a newsletter, made it onto Bloomberg News. After a lot of buck ... JCDecaux and News Corp. in talks to combine outdoor ad groups (International Herald Tribune) The News Corp. chief executive, Rupert Murdoch, has recently expressed nervousness about investments in Russia, where News Outdoor generated the bulk of its revenue last year. SEC Looks Into UAL Stock Scare; Implications For Online News? (paidContent.org via Yahoo! Finance) A ton of digits have been devoted to this in other spots but the SEC's decision to investigate takes it to another level. The backstory: a six-year-old news story about UAL declaring bankruptcy made it into the Tribune-owned Sun-Sentinel's current news flow, was picked up by a Google News bot and, via a reporter for a newsletter, made it onto Bloomberg News. JCDecaux in talks to buy News Corp. billboard unit (AP via Yahoo! Finance) In a deal that would create the world's largest outdoor advertising company, French conglomerate JCDecaux SA said Thursday that it is in talks to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. Phila. mayor to announce grim budget news (The Philadelphia Inquirer) The Nutter administration is expected to announce grim budget news today, which is all but certain to lead to significant spending cuts - perhaps as high as 10 percent - in some city departments, according to three sources familiar with the budget. News Corp says Mark Williams interim Premiere CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp. executive Mark Williams has taken over as chief executive of German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere in an interim capacity, News Corp. said after the move led to renewed takeover speculation. News Corp. says Mark Williams interim Premiere CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Mark Williams, a News Corp. executive named late on Wednesday as chief executive of German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere, has taken over in an interim capacity, a News Corp. spokeswoman said on Thursday. Site: news - Google News Phil Schiller bringing the news at Macworld - San Francisco Chronicle
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for entrepreneurialism Lone Star Library: Green Mountain founder shares entrepreneurial insights (Fort Worth Business Press) Rural Southerner Sam Wyly came by his self-made captain-of-industry status the hard way, developing a passion for business strategy by playing schoolboy football and observing his parents? natural gift for small-business operations and hard-bargain bartering. S.C.'s brightest complete Business Week (Columbia Star) Approximately 200 high school students from across S.C. have successfully graduated from South Carolina Business Week, presented by the South Carolina Cable Television Association, July 13- 18, at Presbyterian College in Clinton. Wellington West opens Montreal branch (CNW Group via Yahoo! Finance) Wellington West Holdings Inc., a privately held, employee-owned financial services firm, today announced the expansion of its national network with the opening of a Wellington West Capital Inc. full-service retail investment branch in Montreal, Quebec. Ctek Selects Kyocera 300 Module for Z4100 Wireless Router (Centre Daily Times) Kyocera Wireless Corp. (KWC), a leading global manufacturer of wireless handsets, devices and embedded machine-to-machine (M2M) modules, and Ctek, a leading manufacturer of specialized communications solutions for industrial and commercial applications, today announced the selection of the Kyocera 300 Module for Ctek's cost-effective Z4100 Router. The Kyocera 300 Module enables reliable, ... Memphis confident of growth campaign (Memphis Commercial Appeal) One year after the launch of a $64 million economic development campaign, city officials are increasingly optimistic about the impact of MemphisED on the Bluff City. Summer break project: JTCC student lives, learns nonprofit leadership with Pheonix Project (The Petersburg Progress-Index) CHESTER ? Jamie Poniatowski, a Class of 2008 human services major, spent her summer break in Petersburg, participating in the Phoenix Project?s 2008 Nonprofit Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Program, which transforms committed undergraduate and graduate students into effective social entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills and connections to succeed in Virginia?s nonprofit sector. Ctek Selects Kyocera 300 Module for Z4100 Wireless Router (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) SAN DIEGO & RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif.----Kyocera Wireless Corp. , a leading global manufacturer of wireless handsets, devices and embedded machine-to-machine modules, and Ctek, a leading manufacturer of specialized communications solutions for industrial and commercial applications, today announced the selection of the Kyocera 300 Module for Ctek?s cost-effective Z4100 Router. $1 Million Opus Prize Finalists Announced (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance) Seattle University and the Opus Prize Foundation today announced three finalists for the $1 million 2008 Opus Prize, one of the world's largest humanitarian service awards. Guided by faith and an entrepreneurial spirit, Marguerite "Maggy" Barankitse, Krishnammal Jagannathan and Michael Woodard are working throughout the world to give people the tools to transform their lives. Scotiabank Online Small Business Contest Last Call (CNW Group via Yahoo! Finance) The chance for Canadian small business owners to win $50,000 in cash prizes is coming to a close. As part of Scotiabank's 'Get Growing to a Million' Campaign, the online challenge has offered small business owners across Canada a chance to win one grand prize of $20,000 and six regional prizes of $5,000. In cinemas this weekend (Guardian Unlimited) RocknRolla | The Duchess | Bangkok Dangerous | Disaster Movie | Sweete Land | El Cantante | Never Apologise | Mera Pind My Home Site: entrepreneurialism - Google News Ohio House Speaker Budish touts regionalism in his first address - WKYC-TV
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