Russ Dalbey's Blog

Do you read the newspaper or visit a news website on a regular basis? If you said “no,” you’re not alone.

In the past, keeping up with current issues was part of the daily routine. Today, staying on top of the daily news is something that many people say they either don’t have time for or don’t feel like doing. More information is available to us than ever before, yet we often feel like we’re drowning in just our day-to-day lives – who has time to keep up with what’s going on outside of our immediate environment?

I completely understand the need to shut it all out – at least occasionally. But don’t make the mistake of assuming that what’s going on in the “bigger picture” has no relevance to your life or your own success.

Globalization has effectively shrunk our world to the point where seemingly unrelated factors can have a big effect on other people, countries, or industries – even if the point source is on the other side of the world.

I find that the most successful entrepreneurs and small business owners are the ones who are knowledgeable about a broad range of issues, not just those that directly affect their business. You never know where your next big idea will come from, so keep your eyes and ears open.

What if Apple’s Steve Jobs focused only on computers and didn’t consider how people enjoy music outside of the house? The iPod revolution revived Apple. As a side effect, some consumers have taken a fresh look at their computers and have a whole new impression about Mac products, resulting in some of Apple’s most successful years ever.

To expand your business, it’s critical to keep a finger on the pulse of the community. Unfortunately, there’s only so many hours in the day. Here are a few tips to help you soak up the info you want and filter the news you don’t have time to sift through:

1)    Subscribe to online RSS feeds. They allow you to receive specifically requested information. These feeds are completely customizable, so you can spread them out to cover a broad range of topics without having to scan through everything to get what you want. You can assign the feeds you want to show up and stream onto your homepage (i.e., My Yahoo!) or even have it sent to your email (try Google Reader). I’d suggest a feed for national business news, such as from the Wall Street Journal, and a local one, such as The Denver Post.

2)    Bookmark specific sections of the online news sources you like to check out. This option does require you to do some initial set-up, but it allows you to easily pick and choose which daily news items you’d like to get from your toolbar.

3)    Start scanning the “blogosphere” (if you’re reading this, you’re obviously already aware of the value of blogs). There are many different types of web logs out there, many of which discuss or distribute breaking news about certain industries. These sites will have links to other webpages to help you digest an industry’s current trends without reading two years worth of news articles to get up to speed. Try blogsnow or technorati to find hot topics and blogs.

I hope that this will inspire you to take a look at what’s going on outside your industry. Even if you don’t get any earth-shattering new business ideas, you’ll get a better feel for what’s going on in the world and the role you and your company will play in it.

Warmly,

Russ
Founder of Winning In The Cash Flow Business
Dalbey Education Institute

Founder of Winning in the Cash Flow Business