by Lynn Effinger

Whether you own your own business or work for someone else you will stare opportunity in the face more than once. Will you be bold enough to step through that window of opportunity or too timid to act?

Let me demonstrate what I mean. When I was 26 years old I was an assistant purchasing agent at S&S Construction Company in Beverly Hills. S&S was, and is, one of the most successful new home development companies in Southern California. I wanted to move up in the company to be a bigger part of our success and, obviously, to make more money. I had been with the company for just under a year when I read an article in Builder Magazine that talked about how other builders were building what was referred to as moderate or affordable housing. Our company was well known for the quality homes we built, but they tended to all be in the upper price ranges in the areas they were built. I wondered why we didn’t build homes that a young family like mine could afford. So I copied the article and wrote a memo to Nathan Shapell, our President and CEO, asking that question. A few days later he called me into his office and asked me what made me think S&S should be in the affordable housing business? I answered that a great company like ours should offer homes in many price ranges and young families should be able to buy an S&S home. Mr. Shapell then told me that he wanted me to take the next two weeks to conduct a marketing survey to determine if we should enter the affordable housing market and where we should start.

I didn’t know the first thing about doing a marketing survey but left Mr. Shapell’s office determined to follow through. To make a long story short, I drove all over Southern California and interviewed sales people at many affordable housing communities. I found out what size the homes were, how large (or small) the lots were, what kind of materials they offered for kitchen countertops, were the tubs steel and porcelain or fiberglass, what types of roofing materials were used, and on and on. I also visited city planning departments to find out where these types of moderately priced homes were being planned for in the near future. It was a time-consuming assignment but I learned a great deal.

Upon the completion of my market study I turned in to Mr. Shapell and awaited his response. About three days later he called me back into his office and said, “Young man, I don’t necessarily agree with everything you concluded in your fine report, but I want you to be our Director of Market Research.” He then gave me a raise and thanked me for my market study. That wasn’t the last time my initiative would serve me well, at S&S and other firms like Great Western Bank and when I started my own consulting business, to name just a couple.

The point is that I saw an opportunity to stand out in a positive way and acted upon it IMMEDIATELY. You must do the same if you are to not only survive but thrive in this terrible economy and beyond.

Lynn Effinger is a small business owner in Temecula. He is an accomplished motivational speaker, a coach, trainer, marketing consultant, and the author of his newly released memoir, “Believe to Achieve – The Power of Perseverance,” available as a paperback and Kindle-book on Amazon.com. You can learn more by visiting www.effingercomunications.com.