Most people read this as “Opportunity is Nowhere.” Look again and you see that it also says “Opportunity is Now Here.” With no letters changed, you have two opposite meanings. It is perfect that the true message is disguised because opportunity itself is usually not obvious. Opportunities may be buried in complexities that seem too hard to overcome. Seeing these opportunities is a great skill in business.
In my computer business, the first 11 years were operated in the same traditional way that a normal computer business operated. We kept growing and were successful in that process. It would have been easy to continue in that same vein and charge a simple hourly rate.
In analysing the processes of our business, I started to look at things in different ways. To respond to client needs, I didn’t want to fall into the trap of doing the same tasks in the same ways. It is important not to accept a process as it is—you should always test different approaches.
I started interviewing key clients and discovered most didn’t like paying an hourly fee—despite the fact that the entire computer industry worked that way. Initially I just couldn’t see how we could change this process. How could we throw away the history of the entire industry just because a few of my clients didn’t like it? After more thought and investigation, I realised that no other IT company had managed to crack this secret code either.
So I set about doing just that. After five years and thousands of hours of research, I found that opportunity that was initially nowhere became a new business model, known as Managed Services or SLAs. Not only did it move our business a giant step forward as I took a “big bet” on the model, I wrote a book (SLAM) and released a DVD specifically on how any IT business could transform in the same way. This book and DVD have sold thousands of copies to IT companies in over 16 countries.
With an open mind and seeking attitude, opportunities are everywhere.