Do you remember when you’ve missed a great once in a lifetime business opportunity and wished that you grab that opportunity? I know I remember some of them, and it still sucks… big time. I wish I could turn back time and made the right decision. Well, while time travel is still a distant dream, I suggest you to do what you can do today: Don’t let another window of opportunity passes you without you putting a strong effort to grab it.
Window of opportunity, according to Investopedia, is “a short time period during which an otherwise unattainable opportunity exists. After the window of opportunity closes, the opportunity ceases to exist.”
What kind of opportunities? Great real estate deals, IPOs, and such. With that being said, window of opportunity is the best time to act on a business or investment opportunity.
Okay, perhaps the opportunities are not always turned into success; however, the potential of the “once in a lifetime” deal is huge.
Now, many of us – including me – love to wait and see. Perhaps we just like to observe what people are doing and enter at the right time; perhaps we are just afraid of taking actions because of the unknowns; perhaps we are simply procrastinating and missing out opportunities because we are lazy.
I am a bit of all those; I knew I should take better action when a window of opportunity present in front of my eyes. I am sometimes afraid that I take bad business decisions (I was in a near bankruptcy situation – so it’s a bit traumatic, really); I am sometimes just too lazy to learn more about opportunities.
When those things happen, what’s left is regret. I regret that I didn’t take action at that time. Let’s talk about this in example.
My real estate investing journey has ended even before it started
You see, there’s a land in where I live right now that has huge future ahead. Two major property developers are grabbing acres after acres. I knew that when they want to develop a land, there’s got to be something great will happen – people are starting to learn about it: The window of opportunity has just started. I knew about this but I didn’t take action; I thought it was just a fad.
Okay, so I finally take action – 2 years after the developers were kick-starting the development, I finally took courage to sell my house and buy a new one – in that region.
To cut long story short, 2 years after I moved in to the region, the property value has tripled; in 2 short years, ever property in the land enjoys similar growth figure – and there’s no sign of slowing down. Every time the developer launches a new real estate, all units were sold out at launch day. Amazing.
Today, I feel that the window of opportunity is starting to close; the real estate in the region is overpriced. The real estate bubble might burst soon – but even if it’s not, the real estate prices will no longer raising like they were in the past.
My problem is, I was late in taking action when the window of opportunity is widely open. I do have taken one good action (bought a house here and moved in) but I miss many great real estate investment opportunities, as I am slow in deciding whether I should explore deeper into financing to acquire properties in the region. I failed to do my best, and it’s maybe too late for me to act now; it would be logical for me to eye on the future window of opportunity.
That’s too bad! But lessons well learned.
Takeaway
My story above is about real estate investing; but I’m sure it can happen with business opportunities and any other investing opportunities.
You see, some window of opportunities are very short; some last longer – the bottom line, you need to take action in timely manner – or else, you might regret you didn’t take action soon enough.
Did you know about PSY and his Gangnam Style? This is one good example of how to capitalize on the window of opportunity. PSY and his management have done a great job in using the momentum to turn the exposure of the music video into potential business and partnership deals.
So take this with you: When you discover a lucrative business opportunity, be sure to take a deeper look into it. Don’t wait too long and don’t procrastinate – who knows that single business opportunity can turn the whole course of your entrepreneurial journey toward a better direction.
Ivan Widjaya
Eying on opportunities