Opportunity Knocks

When Hurricane Ike slammed into the Texas Gulf Coast, he did more than wreck homes, knock out the power, and disrupt millions of lives. He also created opportunities .

Ike's winds created mountains of debris throughout the city. For example, I had a pile of limbs about 8' long, 5' deep, and 8' tall. We also filled about 50 plastic bags with twigs and leaves. The massive amount of debris presented the city and property owners with a challenge-- how to remove and dispose of this mess in a timely fashion.

The city responded by hiring hundreds of outside contractors. However, we were warned that it might be months before all of the debris was removed. Some enterprising people filled the void and began offering debris removal directly to home owners. They saw an opportunity and tried to meet it. As painting contractors, there are often other services that we can offer that will add to our bottom line and enhance the job for the customer.

Services such as wood repair, pressure washing, and radiant barriers can create win- win situations for both the customer and the contractor. For the customer, the need to find another contractor is eliminated, and for the contractor these services create additional revenue streams.

I don't mean that we should become a jack-of-all-trades. But there are services that fit well within our skill set that can be offered without compromising quality or pushing us outside of our core competencies.

We don't always know when opportunity will knock. When it does, we must be prepared to answer the door. Sometimes it might be an annoying solicitor. But it might be a friend with a 6-pack of imported beer.