by David Newton.

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” – Henry Ford

When I first started reading Australian Business Opportunities there were many ads showing people how you could make it rich via mail order. Almost every advert had a “reply to” mail address or a ‘toll free’ number to call. The scope of ads went from healthy life and weight loss all the way to mail order businesses, business management, sales training and sales of beauty care products.

Back then if you had an internet connection eg. in 1994, it was certainly going to be a modem connection and you were a rare early adopter. Even having a 5 page website was considered to be a pure luxury.

As an example the Feb/Mar/Apr edition of Australian Business Opportunities of 1994, featured topics like Mail order success, colour business cards and MLM was a very hot topic back then as Australia was in a post recession mode. If you had a computer at home you’d have most certainly crossed your paths with doing “Desktop Publishing” for the simple reason that bubble jet printers and Microsoft Word 3.1 were the start of making this possible in that era.

Home loan brokers were in their infancy back in the early 90’s. Brokers, often someone who was working at home only needed to run small ads in the local paper or visit local business or business networking clubs to acquire new clients. As the new niche gathered steam, finding a broker was easier, but in the early days this was a very rewarding business.

However the internet was to take over every aspect of our retail experiences. By 1999 after telling my friends that it was a ‘passing fad’, I made a change and connected myself to the internet by getting my first email address and my first website.

Suddenly the ABO magazine started showing many ads relating to getting into the craze of finding new customers online. But I ask what to sell? The internet world has become a mirror of what mail order businesses were in the 90’s – i.e. teaching people how to make money. In the early days I was lucky enough to make money via online dating. Imagine if I persisted in knocking back the modern world?

These days the internet is at an advanced stage. You are more likely to make money with a new app or some software that helps people access a common service. Uber, Lyft, Meetup, Airbnb, Flatshare etc are where the public are searching and where new business start-ups are heading.

“Don’t bring your need to the marketplace, bring your skill. If you don’t feel well, tell your doctor, but not the marketplace. If you need money, go to the bank, but not the marketplace.” – Jim Rohn

If you want to be a success, you need to be an early adopter or better yet a creator. What do customers want? Are there any gaps in the market not being filled? Can I gain traction in this area quickly? Am I willing to persist despite setbacks?

Ideas only catch on if there is a real need in the market and people are willing to buy from a source that they feel comfortable with.

A classic example could be espresso coffee. It’s so universal that almost everyone “expects” to have it handy to them. But have you ever had a job where walking to the nearest cafe was just too time consuming? I know I have. That’s where capsule coffee came into being.

A few years ago I was at a photocopier sales office and it was in a remote industrial district where the cafes were just too far away. So they had an immaculate coffee machine in the kitchen that made perfect coffee each time from little capsules. Amazing! This little machine was top of the range and must have cost a lot, but it was in use all day long at that office. Talk about filling a gap in the market. This was a prime example.

Remember there is something that you can always do better than others can do. It’s up to you to find what you do best and garner support for a business surrounding that trait of yours. Customers are always willing to follow a person who will help them get what they want. Have your ear to the ground and find what they want so you can make an income from supplying that product or service.

David Newton runs social and business events in both Sydney and Melbourne see his sites: Baby-Boomers-Melbourne plus MelbourneWalking.com plus SydneyWalking attend his regular events and meet new people.