Turning upism is the philosophy of staying around long enough for something positive to turn up. It’s about buying time for a positive change or opportunity to arrive.
Though the term may be new to you, you see examples of turning upism regularly. Just consider the countless actors who achieved worldwide fame late in life, when the right casting opportunity turned up. And those politicians who only achieved high office after decades in politics, when the right opportunity to stand for office turned up.
What does this have to do with business?
Quite a bit, actually.
Turning upism and business
In business, success comes to those with the persistence to keep on doing the right things, correctly. However, as in the above examples, turning upism isn’t merely about persisting or waiting.
We also need to be prepared for when the opportunity turns up.
I wrote a while back about a friend of mine who was invited onto a popular, national radio show. She’s an amazingly gifted architect and the show is an absolutely perfect fit for her. After she told me about the invite, I was just about to congratulate her… when she said that she turned the offer down! She went on to say she just couldn’t do it because she’d be too nervous.
Prepare for your opportunity
Here are a few useful ways to prepare, for when turning upism presents you with the dream project or major client / customer that you’ve always wanted.
- Make it a habit to be on the look out for people who you can put in place, in case you need additional team members.
- Talk with your suppliers. Find out how quickly they can scale up if you have a sudden, vastly higher demand than usual for whatever they provide.
- Make sure your financial details are clear and detailed, should a serious party ask about acquiring your business. This will help you get the best possible price and show them you’re a serious operator.
- Talk with your bank manager, in anticipation of a future, major project. Make sure you have access to the cash flow required, for what can be a sudden, huge spike in your outgoings.
- Get some media training, before you need it. Learn how to speak on camera, how to talk with clarity and how to overcome any fears about there being a huge audience.
- And if you’re hoping to go ‘viral’, contact your web host to make sure it has the capability to handle huge volumes of traffic. I’ve seen what happens when a server can’t cope, and masses of valuable traffic is lost.
You get the idea. Prepare in advance.
Whether someone knows about turning upism or not, the longer you’re in business, delighting your customers or clients, building your reputation and your brand, the more likely it is that something wonderful will turn up. So be ready. Get the maximum from the opportunity. Because you’ve earned it.