Uncertainty is creating business opportunities—if you know where to look

If one word could characterize the climate of 2025 rocketing towards 2026, it is uncertainty. And for most business owners, uncertainty feels like quicksand—every move might be the wrong one.

You're facing decisions that keep you up at night: Should you launch that new product when supply chains are unpredictable? Can you afford to hire desperately needed talent when customer demand might evaporate tomorrow? Does your product even align with what customers need anymore?

Here is a free consultation gem: uncertainty isn't your enemy. It's your overlooked competitive advantage.

The businesses that thrive during volatile times aren't the ones with perfect predictions. They're the ones who know how to reframe what they're selling.

Research by McKinsey & Company shows that companies that excel at identifying and capturing new market opportunities achieve 2.3x higher revenue growth compared to their peers.

Let me show you how one hour of strategic thinking can turn a struggling $10K annual business into a $1M opportunity. Not through harder work—through smarter positioning.

The Brutal Reality of Today's Market

The challenges hitting your desk right now aren't small:

Increased costs for raw materials, labor, and essential inputs, squeezing profit margins, make it difficult to maintain pricing strategies. The price you charged last quarter might not even cover your costs this quarter.

New tariffs and trade restrictions are disrupting supply chains, increasing costs, delays, and threatening existing contracts. That reliable supplier? They might not be reliable next month.

Rising interest rates increase borrowing costs, which impacts expansion plans and strains cash flow for businesses reliant on loans. That growth investment you planned? It just got a lot more expensive.

And perhaps most frustrating: Policy uncertainty has been elevated across multiple domains, and economics research shows this can slow economic growth primarily by suppressing firm investment and hiring.

You can't plan when you don't know the rules. And the rules keep changing.

Why Uncertainty Makes Planning Feel Impossible

Traditional business planning assumes a relatively stable environment. You forecast demand, plan inventory, map hiring needs, and execute. But that playbook was written for a different game.

Uncertainty is characterized by both an unknown outcome and an unknown probability distribution, forcing decision-makers to operate beyond the comfort of quantifiable risk models.

Translation: You're not just gambling on outcomes—you don't even know what the possible outcomes are yet.

This is why your detailed five-year plan feels worthless three months in. It's not because you planned poorly. It's because the fundamental assumptions underlying your plan keep shifting.

Here's the breakthrough: What if the solution isn't better prediction, but better positioning?

The Hidden Opportunity: Your Product Might Serve Markets You've Never Considered

Most businesses define their market too narrowly. They think: "We serve X type of customer with Y type of product." Full stop.

But your product isn't just one thing. It's a bundle of features, benefits, and solutions, and talented people. And different customer segments care about entirely different aspects of what you offer.

The salon owner who thinks they sell haircuts is missing that they actually sell confidence, convenience, and transformation. The software developer who thinks they sell custom applications is missing that they actually sell time savings, reduced errors, and business process optimization.

The question that changes everything: Who else needs what you're already delivering, but doesn't know you exist because you're talking to the wrong audience?

Three Paths Through Uncertainty: Product, Software, and Service

The right strategy depends entirely on what you sell. I will break this down by business type.

Physical Products: When Supply Chains Become Strategy

If you manufacture or sell physical goods, supply chain disruptions are causing delays in receiving materials and increasing costs, which impacts production schedules and profitability.

You have four strategic options—but each carries different risk profiles:

Option 1: Sustainable Sourcing as Market Differentiation

The supply chain crisis is real, but it's also an opportunity to differentiate. Customers increasingly care where products come from and how they're made. Consumers are looking for personalized experiences and solutions that speak to their lifestyles, values, and aspirations.

Consider: Can you source domestically or sustainably? Can you turn supply chain reliability into a marketing advantage? "Made with guaranteed US-sourced materials" or "Verified sustainable supply chain" becomes a competitive edge when others can't deliver consistently.

Option 2: Strategic Partnerships

Partner with smaller companies that have the base materials but lack your infrastructure, distribution, or brand recognition. They get market access; you get supply security. This isn't just risk mitigation—it's creating moats around your business.

Option 3: Strategic Stockpiling

Yes, this requires upfront capital. Yes, it's risky if demand shifts. But if you have strong historical data and can predict demand patterns even approximately, having inventory when competitors don't means you own the market. Just be honest about the risk.

Option 4: Product Re-evaluation

Here's where strategy gets interesting. Take a hard look at your physical product through fresh eyes:

• Audit current market supply for your materials

• Analyze past demand data (but weight recent quarters more heavily)

• Factor in market shifts—what customers said they needed six months ago may have changed

• Identify which features are essential vs. nice-to-have

Sometimes the answer is simplifying your product to reduce dependency on scarce materials. Sometimes it's adding features that competitors can't source.

The nuance: This is where experienced strategic thinking pays dividends. The "right" answer depends on your specific business size, product category, customer base, and competitive landscape. Generic advice can increase your risk rather than reduce it. If you're uncertain about which path fits your situation, this is exactly when outside expertise prevents expensive mistakes.

Software: Iteration Beats Prediction

The software industry figured this out years ago: iteration is the answer to uncertainty.

Rather than trying to build the perfect product for an unpredictable future, deliver valuable pieces iteratively. Give customers something useful now, collect feedback, adapt, and move to the next piece.

But software businesses face a different problem in uncertain times: The rapid pace of technological change means you are unsure what developer skills you need to fill customer requirements. For that matter, what customers will need or want in 3 months.

Here's your strategic framework:

Option 1: Shift Your Customer Base

This is the big reframe. Maybe you're targeting the wrong market segment entirely. (More on this below with a real example.)

Option 2: Invest in Your Team's Growth

Don't panic-hire and panic-fire based on whatever technology trend is blowing through the industry this quarter. SaaS companies typically have revenue multiples of 10-20x, while traditional service businesses only average 2-3x—which means your talent is your most valuable asset.

Your existing developers would love to learn new skills. Create small batch training programs: send 3-4 people to deep-dive into emerging tech, then have them teach others.

Implement paired programming. Invest in continuous learning as a retention strategy.

The talent you already have is more valuable than you think—if you help them grow with the market rather than replacing them every time technology shifts.

(I digress there - because I could write an entire separate article on the value of legacy talent and the negative impacts to business caused by mass layoffs to meet QX numbers.)

Services: Packaging and Product

If you sell services—consulting, education, salons, massage therapy, coaching—you fill a gap that individuals or companies cannot perform themselves. Your challenge isn't usually product-market fit. It's packaging and positioning.

The key insight: When demand is uncertain, the solution isn't changing what you do. It's changing how you package it.

Start by asking your existing clients the right questions:

• What would make you use our services more often?

• What prevents you from engaging with us as much as you'd like?

• What's almost good enough about our service, but not quite?

• If you could change one thing about how we deliver, what would it be?

Listen carefully to the patterns in their answers. You're looking for unmet needs that you could easily address.

If the barrier is price: Create frequency programs or bundle options. Three sessions for the price of 2.5. Monthly retainer at a discount vs. one-off projects. Make the math work in your favor through volume.

If the barrier is convenience: Can you go to them? Can you offer virtual options? Can you establish a rotating presence at locations where your ideal clients cluster? Ex: A massage therapist who does monthly on-site days at three corporate offices is booked solid six months out.

If the barrier is understanding: Productize your expertise into clear, fixed-scope packages with transparent pricing. No more "it depends" followed by custom quotes. Productization of services means transforming a custom service into a repeatable, scalable product with fixed deliverables, clear pricing, and standard processes. (You can see an example of this model in my business.) It doesn’t limit you to scaling down or offering entry level value to specific clients in need of custom options – It sets a standard for your main audience.

The productization advantage: Scope creep is a sign of inefficient operations and can cost businesses 20-30% loss in revenues annually. Clear packages eliminate this.

How one strategic conversation transformed a $10K struggle into a six-figure opportunity:

Here's a real case that demonstrates the power of reframing your market positioning.

A client was focused on serving hair stylists, building AI automation and custom workflows specifically for salons and individual beauticians. She was technically brilliant, but getting no traction from her chosen audience.

The Problem: She was stuck on one side of what I call. “Expertise Wastelands.”  She offered a highly sophisticated solution for a real user need. But salon owners couldn't understand the technical complexity or what she was truly offing them. The value was invisible to them because of the knowledge gap between her expertise and their technical literacy.

She was spinning out, hustling constantly, and had not closed a single deal.

Annual revenue potential: approximately $10,000. Margins: razor-thin. Time investment: unsustainable.

The Strategic Question: In our first consulting session, I asked: "What application are you building these automations on top of?"

She named a popular workflow automation platform with 3 million active users across all industries.

I followed up: "Can anyone use this application for the workflows you're building, or is it salon-specific?"

Long pause.

"Well... technically anyone running similar customer journey processes could use it. I just focused on salons because that's who I know."

The Reframe:

She had been planning to build custom applications, taking 5 days per build, charging $500-$1,000 each. It was high-effort, low-margin work with unpredictable engagement.

But what if she stopped building custom and started building once?

What if instead of convincing one salon at a time to pay for custom development they didn't fully understand, she built a productized tool that anyone using that platform could plug in and use immediately? Isn’t that a 3M user market to tap?

The Numbers:

Original approach:

• Custom applications: 5 days to build each

• Pricing: $500-$1,000 per build

• Frequency: Maybe 1 per month with heavy hustle

• Annual revenue: ~$10,000

• Effort level: Unsustainable

Reframed approach:

• Investment: 2-4 weeks to build productized tool once

• Pricing: $8/month subscription (low-barrier entry point)

• Target: 30 clients in first quarter charge $8 a month access (establishing foothold)

• First quarter revenue: $240/month = $720 quarterly

• Year one potential: 10,000 clients = $80,000 annual recurring revenue

• Effort: Maintenance and customer support (but no custom builds)

The transformation: From unreliable $10K/year with unsustainable effort to $80K+ potential with scalable operations. And that's just year one in a market of 3 million potential users.

But here's what really mattered: We also defined the product feature roadmap and phased launch plan. She knew exactly which features to build first (the minimum viable product that solved real pain points), which features to add once she had a client base providing feedback, and how to price tier upgrades.

In one hour, we shifted her business plan from uncertain struggle to clear opportunity. Not through working harder. Through seeing the same skills, same product, same market from a completely different angle.

Finding Your Hidden Market: The Questions That Unlock Opportunity

Geospatial analysis has revealed untapped market potential worth over $127 billion across various industries. That opportunity is sitting there—most businesses just can't see it because they're looking from the wrong angle.

Here's your strategic framework:

1. Who already wants what you deliver, but doesn't know it yet?

You're not looking for entirely new products. You're looking for new audiences for your existing capabilities. The hair salon AI developer didn't change her talents—she changed who she was selling it to.

2. What problem are you solving that you've never articulated?

Most businesses describe features, not outcomes. "We provide custom workflow automation" vs. "We eliminate 15 hours of administrative work per week." Same product, completely different value proposition. I like to say, “Don’t tell customers you chop lettuce, tomatoes, and grill meat, tell them - you make amazing tacos!”

3. Where are the gaps in your competitive landscape?

Areas with significant customer dissatisfaction often represent opportunities for better solutions. Look for markets where customers are complaining but staying because they have no better option. That's your entry point.

4. What would make your existing customers use you more often?

Re-Engaging your current customer base is often easier than finding new customers. What friction exists that prevents more frequent engagement? Remove it.

5. Can you productize what is currently customized?

Agency team members typically spend 8 hours per week on administrative tasks, with some reporting up to 20 hours of non-billable work weekly. Every hour you spend on custom proposals, scoping calls, and project management is an hour you're not serving more customers.

What if you packaged that expertise into fixed-price, fixed-scope offerings? Productized services help businesses reduce costs, increase consistency, and reach more customers efficiently.

The Strategic Advantage of Fresh Perspective

You're probably too close to your business to see the opportunities.

You know your product intimately. You understand your customers deeply. You're fluent in your industry language. The friction: All of that expertise makes you understand the trees but not where you are in the forest.

You see "hair salon workflow automation" because that's what you built it for. You don't see "customer journey automation for any service business using Platform X" because you never thought to look from that angle.

You see "consulting services" as hourly billing because that's how you've always done it. You don't see the productization opportunity because custom work feels like your competitive advantage (even when it's actually limiting your growth).

How to leverage exponential value

An experienced consultant has pattern recognition from working across dozens of industries and business models. They've seen the reframe work in software companies, service businesses, and physical products. They know which strategies work at which business scales. They can spot the opportunities you're missing because they're not immersed in your daily operations.

More importantly, they can help you stress-test ideas before you invest resources. That "obvious" pivot? It might work brilliantly—or it might introduce new risks you haven't considered. Strategic expertise helps you distinguish between smart bets and expensive mistakes. I pride myself on radical honesty and transparency. I am the voice in the room that WILL tell you, “That may be a bad idea, and here is why…” Your team may not tell you but - be thinking it.

You can absolutely start this process yourself:

• Survey your existing customers about unmet needs

• Analyze your competitive landscape for dissatisfaction gaps

• Research online communities where groups passionately discuss specific needs—active subreddits, Instagram hashtags, and niche forums can reveal untapped market opportunities

• Map out who else might benefit from your existing capabilities

• Experiment with repositioning your messaging

How to identify if you need help:

You've identified a potential opportunity but can't assess the risk-reward ratio

Is this a $10K opportunity or a $1M opportunity? What resources would it require? What's the realistic timeline? Shamless pitch here: An experienced consultant can provide benchmarks from similar transitions.

You're considering significant pivots that will consume resources

Repositioning your business, changing target markets, or productizing services all require investment. Getting it right matters. Strategic guidance prevents expensive false starts.

You can see multiple paths but can't determine which fits your specific situation

Generic advice fails here. "Stockpile inventory" might be brilliant for one business and catastrophic for another. Context-specific expertise is worth paying for.

You need someone to challenge your assumptions

Your team will tell you what they think you want to hear. A consultant will tell you what you need to hear. Sometimes the most valuable insight is "don't do that."

You're stuck in operational mode and need strategic thinking time

You're firefighting daily operations. You don't have bandwidth for deep strategic work. Bringing in expertise creates the space for strategic transformation while you keep the business running.

Uncertain Future Outlook or Opportunity On The Horizon

Down markets aren't disasters. They are opportunities for ambitious businesses. Modern-day giants like IBM, AirBnB and Uber were created in down markets.

But opportunity doesn't come from doing the same thing harder. It comes from seeing your business from new angles. From asking: "Who else needs what I'm already delivering?"

Start here:

1. Survey 10 current customers this week. Ask what would make them use your services more, what prevents them from engaging more frequently, and what they wish existed that currently doesn't.

2. Map your product benefits to 5 different market segments. Don't think about who you currently serve. Think about who else your solution could help.

3. Analyze one competitor's customer reviews. What are people complaining about? Those complaints are market gaps you might fill.

4. Calculate the true cost of your current approach. How much time goes to custom work, proposals, and rework? What would your revenue look like if that time went to serving more customers with standardized offerings?

Then make a decision: Is this a reframe you can execute internally, or do you need someone who's done it before to help you navigate the transition?

Get started, 72% of executives consider finding new market opportunities to be a top strategic priority, yet only 23% report having a systematic approach to market opportunity identification. That gap is your competitive advantage.

The market has shifted. The question is whether your positioning shifts with it.

Christa Jackson

GrowOp Business Consulting & Operations Management

GrowOp.Biz