Hi Julie!

Openings and opportunities....

In spotting opportunities, I believe knowing about trends isn't considered highly enough by most people!

Why are trends so important?

We're all taught that to be in business we must "find a want", find out what it is that people want....

And consumer trends are about -- finding wants!

But not only that, consumer trends are wants which are INCREASING.... More and more people want a particular thing....

So if you want to "find a want," then it pays to know about trends....

So I've been immersing myself in the study of trends lately....

In one of your other messages, you mentioned the book "The Tipping Point". I agree, that is an EXCELLENT book!

I'm currently reading "The Anatomy of Buzz: How to Create Word-of-Mouth Marketing" by Emanuel Rosen, which seems to go into more depth than "The Tipping Point" (though it's not as entertaining a read, the info is excellent)!

When I think of the MOST successful business people I'm aware of, a lot of them profited from jumping on a solid long term trend.

Personal computers are one of the most obvious ones of the past two decades, but there are many others too.... The internet is a more recent example. Contrary to popular opinion, there ARE profitable internet companies.... AOL is a good example....

There are also lifestyle trends... More people are moving to live in the countryside, this is a lifestyle trend which will probably continue for a while....

To my mind, jumping on a trend is also the best way for the "little guy or gal" to succeed..... The product developer Bill Myers (who runs a two-person company, with him and his wife) is very successful at what he does, and he is one who keeps his eye on what trends are happening....

I'm not sure if this is what you meant, though....?

I hope you share more of your thoughts.... :)

- Dien "the Friendly Trendy" Rice