In an interview on the Personal Branding Blog, Dan Schwabel interviewed Scott Shane, an expert on entrepreneurship. Here’s part of what Shane says:
“People tend to discover opportunities related to what they know. When they don’t know about something, new information on the topic is lost on them and they don’t see opportunities… If what you know a lot about is a declining industry, you are faced with a problem: you won’t see most valuable opportunities and the ones you see aren’t as valuable. If you’re in that position, you are better off not being the “idea guy” for a new business but are better off joining up with someone who sees better opportunities than you do.”
Are we writers in a declining industry? Certainly magazines, newspapers, and traditional publishing are all declining in their current form. However, what they deliver will always be valuable, so probably what we need to most aware of is new and potential delivery systems. How will we deliver and profit from the content we create in the future?
That includes letting go of our natural resistance to giving up (or at least adding to) the delivery systems we are used to and like. For writers above the age of, say, 30, that’s probably our biggest challenge.
(for tips on how to be more creative and productive, sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])
(for tips and techniques for how to be more creative and productive, sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])
