As someone involved in an online business, where technologies evolve quicker than I can change my socks, I confess that barely a day goes by where I don’t feel a tinge of intimidation from those at the cutting edge.
An ‘early adopter’ dives in and laps up innovations rapidly and quite rightly enjoys this position. Indeed, many build great profiles and businesses that reflect their front of the pack status.
But do the rest of us need to feel left behind? Most definitely not.
In the 20 years I have been flying solo I have worried heaps about missing buses. In hindsight, I have missed none. Sure a few may have driven by, but they weren’t heading in the direction I wanted to go.
At FSHQ we pondered for ages about getting our forum up and running. I realise now that our timing was impeccable. In less than 6 months, YOU made our forum the liveliest of its kind in Australia. If we’d rushed in, we’d have failed.
When we ran our Flying Solo LIVE! event in 2008, some were pushing us to better embrace blogs, wikis, podcasts and vodcasts. We didn’t and the sell out event was a cracker. We continued this strategy in 2009 and focused our entire effort on creating a valuable, enjoyable day of learning and networking.
So next time you get unsettled by someone banging on about the urgency of getting onto Twitter, or harassing you to develop your Facebook profile, just remember these are the early apopters who paid over $900 for a digital camera that does less than the one you bought last week for $150.
Relax. Business success is a delightfully long walk, with masses of beautiful scenery and many interesting people. It’s not a sprint down a crowded street. Not in my book anyway.
I’ll bet some of you have something to say about early adopter anguish. Post a comment below.
“ As someone involved in an online business, where technologies evolve quicker than I can change my socks, I confess that barely a day goes by where I don’t feel a tinge of intimidation from those at the cutting edge. ”
Robert Gerrish is one of the Flying Solo crew and supports soloists as a coach and consultant. He presents at conferences and networking events and bangs on to the media or anyone who listens, about all things micro. Along with Sam Leader and Peter Crocker, he's the co-author of Flying Solo – How to go it alone in business.
