The Next "Good Sized" Thing

If you're hustling in sales or business, you've probably dreamed of spotting that next killer trend—the one that catapults your career and bank account.

It's not rocket surgery; it's about smart habits and keeping your ears on. I'll lay out three main points to get you started. Follow these, and you'll be ahead of the pack.

Point 1: In all likelihood none of us are going to start a competitor to Elon going to Mars!

A few of those “moonshot’s” are out there of course but I see a lot of wasted motion with entrepreneurs spending lot of brain cycles thinking at that scale. According to X (thanks again, Elon) America has over 22 million millionaires! The vast majority are entrepreneurs doing something not glamorous in what most would consider a boring niche. Most of the successful people I know got real good in one area of business and eventually figured out a way to buy or start a business in that field and became financially free. That is the tried and true way to

“make it” and does not require any inventions!

Point 2: Dive into the Data and Trends.

First off, you can't find the next big thing if you're flying blind. Start by becoming a data junkie. Track what's hot in your industry through tools like Google Trends, industry reports, or even podcasts from pros. Most of these reporting services will show new trends but they will be so

small compared to the current situation that people will ignore. Find the early trend and that could be your way to the promised land. Start small and see how it works. I have seen this with the advent of the PC on the 80s, the Internet/web in the late 90s and now AI which trickled in until ChatGPT was launched now it is here big time.

Spend 30 minutes a day doing your homework, and you'll start seeing patterns that scream opportunity. I remember my partner Larry Blackwell used to read PC Week Magazine weekly cover to cover and he would always be smiling as he saw the adoption rate of PC’s in business keep rising – he know our business software was going to have more and more customers.

Point 3: Test, Iterate, and Take Smart Risks.

Spotting the next big thing is useless if you don't act. Once you've got a hunch, test it

small. Prototype a pitch or run a pilot with a few clients. We iterated on maintenance software by running small ads to see how many people replied asking for more information. Keep risks calculated. No need to bet the the farm; allocate 10-20% of your time or budget to experiments. Use metrics like conversion rates to decide if it's a winner. If it flops, pivot quick.

Wrapping it up, finding your big opportunity boils down to focusing on your core area, keeping up with the data/trends and testing. Implement these three points, and you'll not only spot

trends but own them and if you do find a way to beat Elon to Mars let me know and I will tag along!