Market Timing: The Three Critical Factors
By Gerald Larue I’ll be honest with you, I absolutely love the work of Brian Tracy. In my opinion he’s one of the finer authors on the subject of peak performance and personal development. At the point of writing this, I own seven of his books and countless audio programs. It wasn’t too long ago that I was indulging in my nightly personal development reading when an excerpt from one of his books provided me with a vivid epiphany. This defining moment was stimulated by his best-selling book “Create Your Own Future”, page 2: “If you do what other successful people do, nothing can stop youfrom eventually getting the same results they do.” I glanced up from the book. An alarm went off in my head. Something about that axiom rubbed me the wrong way. I knew there was a lot more to emulation than what was being said here. There should have been an asterisk after that statement followed with some fine print at the bottom of the page. I would propose to you that there are circumstances beyond emulation that determine your success in any endeavor. As an example, if you tried opening an auto manufacturing plant in hopes of emulating Henry Ford, you’d fail miserably. I don’t care if you have Henry Ford holding your hand the entire way… you’d have insurmountable odds to overcome. You mistimed the market. Simple as that. If you’d launched your venture in 1915, maybe you’d have a chance. But the idea of pioneering an assembly line auto manufacturing business in today’s era is absolutely absurd. It comes down to market timing. Regardless of whom you emulate, if market timing variables are working against, nothing you do will bear fruit. That being said, let’s identify the three key factors that outline market timing: Competition, Demand, and Current Trends. 1. COMPETITION - The cell phone industry is an excellent example of how competition can prevent the growth and propogation of a new company. As a business professional, how would you describe the cell phone market? In a word - saturated. With a consumer base in the hundreds of millions and an overabundance of shops, technology providers, and hosting companies, if a start up had any hopes of making it big in the cell phone industry, it would be an uphill battle. The timing is wrong. The market is heavily saturated with providers, while the demand has slipped. At this point, many of the cell phone companies have resorted to stealing and converting current users. If you already have a decent slice of the market share, your goal is to maintain your positioning, hold on to your subscriber base, and work at capturing your competitor’s clients. If you’re hunting frantically for an entry point, the only hope you have of penetrating the cell phone industry today is to introduce a new S-curve with emerging technology. Not an easy task. 2. DEMAND - This will make or break any business. That’s why it always bewilders me when a novice entrepreneur seeks out to invent a new product line and THEN find a market for it. Common sense begs that we identify a massive wave of demand, and then position ourselves in front of it. This guarantees the presence of a ready market of consumers. Do you remember VCRs? Some of us still have them collecting dust on our entertainment centers. These have been phased out by DVD players, and hence the demand has considerably dropped. If you run a VCR sales shop today… you’re probably pretty hungry. The demand has declined, and so has the sales volume. The same thing with those instant Polaroid cameras. The technology has been replaced by digital cameras, and the demand dropped off the map in a few short years. Many photos are now captured on memory cards, not film. The bottom line is, there’s little to no demand for these products. If you plan on venturing into these industries, you’re dead before you even start. Always ensure that there’s a demand for what you market. 3. CURRENT TRENDS - Remember the low-carb diet craze? The Atkins diet sponsored a protein obsession that took the nation by storm. And if you ran a bakery during that time, you surely felt the impact. While forumlating your business plan and structuring your model, be sure to take current market trends into consideration. Do emerging technologies overseas affect your product line? Where are things headed? How do geopolitical circumstances impact your production lines? If Congress was to pass a law preventing the use of a certain raw material, how would this change your manufacturing systems? Always keep an ear to the changing times and stay vigilant to current trends that can effect your industry. PersonalGrowth101.com. www.PersonalGrowth101.com is a subsidiary of Grand Venture Management. All rights reserved. www.PersonalGrowth101.com functions as a growing, web-based resource for all areas of development and personal mastery. The site serves as a central database of articles, tips, general information, and strategies pertaining to individual performance. For more information, visit www.PersonalGrowth101.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gerald_Larue http://EzineArticles.com/?Market-Timing:-The-Three-Critical-Factors&id=438460 tips for a nervous flyer ativan ambien urine test can ambien cause depression ambien and side effects
