Quote:
Originally Posted by eroticsexxx
The question at hand is whether the industry is changing fast enough to support itself on a broad scale, in addition to continuing expansion and growth.
|
The 'industry' isn't a living, breathing, thinking entity that can change. It's just a way to refer to several individuals that make a living selling the same or similar products.
Individuals change, individuals change their habits, individuals respond to incentives, individuals make decisions,...
If individuals A and B go out of business, that does not mean individuals X, Y or Z will go out of business as well.
When supply was low and demand was high, of course it was easy to make money. This resulted (as is the case in any sector of the economy) in an influx of people looking to make a quick buck. A large part of that group of people frankly had no idea what they were doing. They copied what others were doing without improving it. Not that that is a bad thing. It's good for the consumer. It's the way the economy works. For the entrepreneur it simply confirms one of the basic facts of life.
What we see here happens in every 'industry', in every sector of the economy.. and it has been happening since the first 2 humans beings agreed to voluntary exchanges goods or services: things change. technology changes, people change, people's preferences change,... the ones that continue to make the most money are those that are best at predicting those changes and finding ways to profit from them.
And there will always be a few that expect things to last forever. No matter how much money they once made, the inability to innovate and the refusal to admit that only leads to disaster.
Do I worry about change? No, I love it. Change means opportunities. Opportunities for everyone. The question of whether or not someone is changing fast enough is an individual one. Those who are, will continue to make money. Those who aren't, won't.
Of course whether or not someone 'leaves the industry' doesn't tell you how successful he is. It could mean he isn't able to make money in this sector, but it could as well mean he found a better opportunity elsewhere.
Personally, I focus on what I control: my own business. The big existentialist questions of where "the industry is heading" don't concern me. There is no "industry"... There's only individuals. Individuals that innovate, help each other and do business with each other. And individuals that bitch all day about how X killed Y, about how the increase in availability of cheap A killed the business of those who used expensive B to create product C,...