How to catch the wave

This week I was sitting down with the founder of MinuteBids, a website which allows property managers to submit bid requests to commercial grounds maintenance firms for work such as lawn care, snow removal, and the like.

I was intrigued by the company, mainly because I used to own a property maintenance business. Yes, I was the guy going out and measuring up properties in the rain, and meeting with customers at night and weekends. With this new technology, these guys are taking away the pain for both the property managers and the maintenance companies, plus it’s enjoyable for me to see how firms in the industry evaluate each other. Not a bad little company, if you ask me.

So why do I bring this up? This company allows maintenance firms to view detailed aerial photos annotated with project parameters so that they can do a "virtual property walkthrough" without even visiting the site. Ten years ago, I never would have imagined being able to sit in a coffee shop with my laptop, getting work without ever really interfacing with the client directly.

Social media, wireless internet, PDAs…. We are so connected and available, we no longer need to have a physical office. We can run out companies remotely from anywhere in the world. In fact, that’s what I’m doing at this very moment! Just think about what another ten years will bring. 

Entrepreneurs who don’t embrace change will get left behind, while the innovators ride the front edge of the wave (where all the fun, the challenges and the money are). Where you would like to be? Me, I like to surf it up!

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