Albert Einstein stated that “I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited“. This quote has inspired me to use my imagination and to remember the knowledge that is given to me in business, football or anything for that matter that I need to learn. I love to articulate my perspective through the use of analogies. This chain of thought has inspired the name of this new business related blog post – “The fishing game of business”
When I was younger my Dad always tried to teach me how to fish. He showed me practical examples of how to setup a fishing rod, put bait on the hook and then the best way to cast the line into the water. I still need assistance occasionally but what Dad didn’t directly teach me has helped me to grasp a lot of basic business principles for which I have adopted into Omega Digital and will be explained. Concepts explained using analogies in regards to fishing.
The right spots to fish
Experienced fisherman know the exact spots to fish in order to get the best catch. They understand that some spots are better than others in any given location. I was always amazed when fishing with Dad, that by moving closer to the bridge on their local break wall, meant more bites. You would literally walk down another 300-400 meters and there would be less bites. I tried ignoring Dads advice and soon I was falling witness to his correctness. Just observing him every 20-25 minutes and seeing him pull up another fish.
In terms of business, bites can be used as opportunities and spots as industries. Knowing the right spots in the right locations means more opportunities to reel in success and growth. At Omega Digital
, we got tired and annoyed at seeing small business owners without websites and the business owners who had websites in which didn’t look the part. That is why we chose the spot of website design/development and the bites are all passionate small business owners without professional, clean and conversion friendly websites. All of our services have to do with growing a business.
The right bait for the right fish
Another key fundamental principal to fishing is using the right bait for the right fish. Knowing where to catch the fish is essential but the knowledge on how to catch them is vital. Dad would mention at times when he was fishing for black fish to use green algae to catch them. Other baits such as prawns and bread were far less effective if at all. Sure thing Dad, I’ll take your word for it. In terms of business, I speak of bait as the service or product your offering and the right fish as the customers or clients who are demanding it. People who go into business promoting their products and/or services to the right audience is far more effective in the marketplace.
A real world of example of this would be Google & Facebook pay per click advertising programs. Have you ever wondered or thought that it was a coincidence that ads shown on your webpage seem to be catered to your hobbies, interests or specific search queries. My fiance’ was amazed that the instant she changed her relationship status from ‘in a relationship’ to ‘engaged’, was instantaneously bombarded with ads related to weddings. It’s crucial for Google and Facebook to show you specific ads on various things of particular interest to you. Their bait is their ads and you are their fish they are after. In other terms, their targeted audience. The more they know about you, the more likely you will click one of the their ads. Nothing unethical about it, just smart business.
Knowing the tides
Another important concept in business is knowing the tides. Have you ever heard the phrase “Johnny was lucky, he started his business at the right time“. Well it may be more than luck. It could of been his vision. It could of been market research. Another common quote from Dad comes when he’s watching the 6pm news. “Andrew, the only news I care about is when the tides are coming up“. Makes me laugh each time I hear it. Generally, high tide or when the high tides are coming in, means it’s a better time to go out and fish. Low tides can be a far less effective time. This is especially true when fishing closer to shore.
Watching the news for my Dad was an external resource for him to be able to pick and choose the right times to go out. He didn’t go out blind and hope for the best. But rather made a decision based on researched and trusted data. This didn’t guarantee fish would be caught, but it definitely meant that there would be every best chance he would.
Time in business is extremely critical. You want to be seizing every opportunity to bring in the right fish especially when you’re a start up business. All businesses go through high and low tides it’s just about knowing when the high tides are coming in, in order to maximise growth and profit.
In Summary:
I continually hear about how many businesses fail within the first two years of start up. Not inspiring information but nevertheless, we chose at Omega Digital not to go in blindly in business, but to do the market research, find our targeted audience, offer real value and service and just start doing it.
Even though it is quite obviously clear that my Dad has a passion for fishing, it wasn’t why I wrote this article. It was to inspire and to charge up your inner entrepreneur and do what we did. Take an educated and calculated risk. For me personally, I envisioned to help the passionate small business owners grow their business and be the vehicle in which to help them do so. I want to provide an exceptional amount of customer service and be the driving force behind their exponential growth. My client Jeff Cross just told me today that without me, he would not be where he is currently with his particular business setup. As much as I appreciate that compliment, I had to remind him that he is the real driver for growing his business. It was his motivation and vision that decided he wanted to move forward and that Omega Digital has only been the vehicle which has helped him to do so.
This is a real life reminder as managing director as to why I took this step and got into the market of helping other businesses grow.
