Looking for Opportunities

Never be afraid to try something new, but make sure you think about it before you do.

Sometimes you just know when the time is right to jump on a business opportunity and run with it. It can be risky, but can also turn out to be rewarding.

The owners of both companies featured in this issue of Dig Different each saw an opportunity and took it. The opportunities have paid off.

Andy Mayer grew up around pipe bursting and Swagelining in England. When he moved to the United States in the 1990s he noticed there wasn’t a lot of pipe bursting taking place. He took the opportunity and started Murphy Pipeline Contractors in 1999. Business was sporadic at first and it required a lot of education to teach potential customers what pipe bursting was, but eventually the company began to grow.

“With my knowledge and background, it quickly turned into a no-brainer,” Mayer says. “There was an opportunity for trenchless technologies in the U.S.”

Today, the company based in Jacksonville, Florida, is 60 employees strong and does pipe bursting, Swagelining and sliplining jobs throughout the nation.

Jeff Martin and Rick Patenaude, owners of Henniker Directional Drilling in Henniker, New Hampshire, also saw an opportunity when starting their business in 2001. Patenaude had experience in drilling, owning a water well drilling company, and Martin was familiar with the directional drilling equipment. There weren’t many companies in their region doing directional drilling yet.

The two have kept their business small — just seven employees today — but the amount of work they’ve done each year has grown substantially, according to Martin.

WHEN TO JUMP ON AN OPPORTUNITY?

If you are thinking of jumping on an opportunity like expanding services or starting a business, here are five simple questions to ask yourself.

How does this opportunity benefit you?

Usually the answer is straightforward and comes with a dollar sign in front of it. That’s a must — being properly compensated for your work, product or service is a minimum requirement. But what else is good about it? Does it come at a slow time in your business? Do you need new business to stay afloat? Will it give you a foothold in a new market?

What are the downsides?

Every opportunity comes with some negatives, so what are the negatives here? Some that you’ll have to look at include meeting deadlines, learning new techniques and having to hire employees. Take time to look at all the cons of the opportunity.

What’s the best possible outcome from this opportunity?

On the other side, look at what the best outcomes could be. You could be the only business of its type in your area and pull in all the business. You could develop new customers or lock in one big customer. Dream big for a moment about where this opportunity could take you if everything goes really well. If that end result isn’t something you want, then maybe this opportunity makes no sense for you after all.

Can you take on this opportunity and still fulfill existing obligations?

If the new opportunity will strain your resources so that you can’t keep up with existing commitments, you’re better off passing it by or finding another solution. With Henniker Directional Drilling, Martin left his job to start the company while Patenaude stayed with his water drilling company. It enabled Martin to run the new business without any outside obligations.

How does this opportunity fit into your long-term goals?

This is one of the most important questions to ask yourself. You have a plan, a vision and goals, but how does this opportunity fit into that? Will it move you in the direction you desire? Or is it a detour? If the latter, it may be better to pass it by.

Don’t be afraid to look at all opportunities that you might come across. You never know what might happen.