Have you ever heard the saying, “you don’t know what you don’t know?” Well if you haven’t, then of course you don’t know it. But I have – and I think about it a lot.
My dad, one of the wisest men that I know, has always been an idea guy. He dabbled in entrepreneurship post-college hoping to hit on the “next big thing.” While he can’t claim TiVo or the iPod, I still think of his personality and drive for success as one that I would like to emulate.
Having said that, I enjoy listening to those people who have gained some serious wealth by recognizing what was lacking from their surroundings, environment, nearest shopping mall, whatever. A few years back I attended the International Association for Business Communicators at UGA. They had Vena Kim, the founder of Yoforia, speaking about her journey to open Athens’ first frozen yogurt shop. Fro-yo, as it’s commonly referred to, has gained widespread popularity in bigger city markets.
She said something that I still think about today. She said there was a hole in the market. I had never heard anyone say that before. Usually people who want to become Steve Jobs and Bill Gates spend hours thinking about ways to improve what is already on the market. They take a popular gadget, drink, magazine, etc., and invest tons of dollars trying to steal away buyers.
Yeah, and how’s that workin for ya?
In short: it’s not. I think Kim captured the true entrepreneurial spirit when she said she saw something that wasn’t there before. So ask yourself, are you really going to spend your time thinking about a way to improve on the competition? Or are you going to try and improve the community? Because that, to me, is priceless.
Well…not totally priceless. Some say it could get you more cash than the government.
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