Any business gains a vital advantage when they seize a golden opportunity that can elevate them to not only the next level but the top of their industry - which will only help when the time comes to sell to a buyer. However, there is one small catch. Business owners neither can predict nor control the precise form, magnitude or timing of such things; and they can rarely open the windows that give rise to golden opportunities. Even a company as large as IBM couldn’t have affected the speed of Internet adaptation or halted venture capitalists from funding startups; there is simply no perfect set up to take hold. 

 

Therefore, businesses must take whatever steps they can to push a golden opportunity along such as lobbying governments, guiding industry standards or pre-empting competitors. However, don’t ever think that you can conjure one up like a spell when the core business is declining or investors are clamoring for a big hit. Attempting to force such a thing when the stars aren’t aligned will end in disaster most of the time, and result in more difficulty finding a buyer in the future.  

 

On the other hand, there is much that a business owner can do to prepare to capitalize on a golden opportunity or weather a major crisis when one arises. The secret to success lies not in heroic efforts during the middle of a storm, but the quiet actions that are taken during periods of relative calm in between them.