Missed Opportunities

Many times when we least expect it, an opportunity will present itself; and most times we realize it but fail to act. Other times it maybe staring us in the face but don't realize it until someone else acts on it. Kind of like the T.V. commercial "Wow I could of had a V-8!".

I have experienced both of these situations but would like to share one of my most recent missed opportunties.

While sitting in a newly opened coffee shop, at a local mall, waiting for my wife to complete her shopping; I noticed the walls were devoid of any art. From my experience, this very unusual for coffee shops.
Although the walls were bare, and painted a bright white, this made a pleasant atmosphere. As I continued to sip on my coffee, I wondered, was this the owner's intent? Or, did they simply run short on cash and decided to focus on their product?

As I sat and watched people coming and going, I noticed a gentleman that was very busy; and it appeared that he was either the owner or the manager of this coffee shop. As he was hustling around, greeting customers, and talking on his cell phone, I chose not to bother him. My reasoning, was I didn't want to interupt him and quite possibly damage any future negotiations with him.

Aproximately three weeks later I returned to the mall and checked out the coffee shop, and my questions were answered. The owner had placed on the nice bright walls some paintings. In business there is a fine line between being overly aggressive and aggressive. What I should have done was left a business card with him at least giving me a slight chance; but instead I chose to do nothing which gave me no chance.

So my reasoning proved to be wrong. Basically, I am in the same position that I was trying to avoid. Always give your potential customer the opportunity to say no. I learned from that.