Trend Setting
Years ago, over 13 in fact, I desperately wanted to work from home. Through a series of circumstances opportunities arose to allow that to happen. And then the Internet entered the scene - the business scene that is. And I adopted it as a business tool, developed my first website (only one page) and women began contacting me to find out how they could do what I was doing? This was early 1996.
Up till that time I had found only one secretarial group online that was providing online support for clients and I joined them and became their first international member. But I took it further, developing systems, and organising a team that is now worldwide. Within 2-3 years a number of other networks began to spring up. Did they get the same idea on their own? Or, did they see something online that prompted them to do the same? Who knows? I’ve discovered over the years that often I’ll get an idea for something and if I don’t act on it, someone else does - in a different place. Did I share my idea with them? No, but they got it all the same.
Sometimes I’ll get a phone call, or email, from an excited lady who had this wonderful idea about developing a secretarial business at home, and servicing clients via the Internet, and then when she starts doing some research through the Yellow Pages and the web, she discovers there are already people doing it! I have to laugh when they tell me and I tell them I understand - because I do. Did they read something that was stored in the back of their brain till the time was right, or were they completely oblivious to what’s happening further afield?
I did a study on the Proverbs 31 Woman through a blog in 2006 after doing some research on the web to see what was already written. I could find only copies of the Proverbs themselves and 2 or 3 sites that might have explored the meaning behind some of these verses. Now I find dozens of blogs doing the same thing. Did I set a new trend or was this in the wind anyway? Again, who knows? I have a lot more examples of similar things but won’t expand further here.
It is important that if you come up with an idea you think worth doing something about - don’t put it away till a ‘rainy day’. Act on it, research it, be prepared to put some time into it. You’ll never know if you will become a trend setter for something unless you do something about it. I’ve always enjoyed ‘doing my own thing’ and if that means starting something new, then so be it. I remember learning a long time ago, through some business seminars, that it’s better to be in the top 5% than moving with the remaining 95%. But perhaps it’s just that I like to try new (new to me anyway) things as they become available, find ways to utilise them, and then move on to the next new thing.
Hope you have a great year! KMT
