Every company wants to expand its presence by reaching out to new markets or by identifying more opportunities where their brand can be relevant in the lives of consumers and thereby increase its sales further.
Every year, companies and employees spend hours and hours of time and hundreds of thousands of rupees to source and analyse data so as to identify the right markets and right opportunities to get maximum bang for their buck. Companies even partner with a number of agencies to ensure that they get enough information to ensure that the markets and opportunities that they have identified is based on sound logic and data.
While there is nothing wrong in this approach that companies take, but what is amazing is that there are a number of people, who I would like to call small entrepreneurs who are able to identify such markets and opportunities without relying on any data, any analysis or any third party agencies.
Let me list down some of these small but enterprising people who look for that one opportunity, whether big or small just to earn a little more and improve their life a little more:
1) Autos: Auto drivers are the most enterprising lot and I mean it in a very positive sense. They know exactly where is a party, event or dinner happening in any part of the town and they ensure that they are present there to not let go of such an opportunity. One just needs to visit some of the night clubs on a Saturday night or a big wedding party outside a 5 star hotel or a late night movie show in a multiplex and as soon as you come out, there will be a number of autos ready to take one home.
2) Balloon sellers/Ice-cream sellers: This is the other group of enterprising people who will know where the next opportunity is for them and they will ensure that they reach there. Besides the regular picnic spots, these people know where is the big cricket match happening or which part of the town is a wedding taking place and they will be there right outside such venues.
3) Small trader in rural Melas (Fairs): Every rural Mela has a few stalls which sell items that women generally don’t get easily in their villages. You will see a stall selling fairness creams, small mirrors, bright colour bangles, plastic jewellery or any such item that will attract women in droves to that stall. Moreover, this entrepreneur will put up things that he can afford to price at attractive prices of Rs. 10, Rs. 20 or so so that everyone finds something or the other for herself. Once again, what is worth noting in the case of these traders is that they know very well where the next Mela is taking place in all the close by towns and they will be present in the next Mela with another set of exciting things.
4) Temple paraphernalia sellers: While people who have set up their merchandise outside temples do not move from there, what is very interesting is that if there is any new temple that is being built, there will be a set of entrepreneurs who will set up their space and their merchandise outside a new temple just before it opens so that as soon as the temple opens its doors to its devotees, there is a ready market and opportunity for such entrepreneurs.
5) Sellers at the signals: These are people who have more or less identified and short-listed their markets and keep looking for high gain opportunities. For such people, seasons and occasions play a critical role. That is the reason one sees such enterprising people selling Santa caps closer to Christmas, small flags near 15th Aug and woollen earplugs in winter.
6) Eunuchs: This is another group, who identifies its markets and opportunities in an extremely smooth manner and ensures its presence at such times to make the most out of it. In fact, this is one group which cannot rely on one market or one opportunity for too long (in most cases, just once) and for them finding the right place on a daily basis not only becomes a core competency but also becomes a critical success factor.
This, of course is not an exhaustive list and if one were to think, one would be able to list down a few other such kinds of people as well.
What needs to be taken out of this is that while one is looking at the data, one also needs to look beyond the data and scratch the surface a bit as the opportunity maybe lurking right around the corner but we may not be exploiting it due to lack of data or confirmation from a third party.
