Ryan A Graves.com

Last night my girl friend told me the story about how she used to collect Beanie Babies. They use to be the hottest thing and she started collecting very early in the hype. Beanie Babies started in Oakbrook, IL so being from Wheaton, IL she was able to get the most desired Beanie Babies quicker and sooner than all the other collectors (little girls).  She went on to say that as soon as she realized the value (to the rest of the nation) of these collectibles she sold them (she’s very smart). She collected up to $600 bucks per Beanie Baby and made a killing, eventually she used that money to pay for part of college.

The lesson here isn’t that you need to start collecting stuffed animals or buy into the latest trend (see Tickle-Me-Elmo), but the lesson is that timing is everything.  Many of the great VC’s or entrepreneurs in the web 2.0 startup space are the ones that got in early. The wealthiest ones are the people who rode the crash in 2001 and then rode the wave back up starting in 2004/2005. Now today in 2008 as web 2.0 is getting tons of attention from “traditional media” those “big players” are only big because they got in during the right time, the early stages of the growing industry.

Looking forward, as a young, motivated, professional, it is important to look at industry trends and figure out where you want to be. It is important not to always choose the “hot topic” but to choose the area that interests you most and then to stick with that industry so that you can eventually ride the wave down and then hopefully up. It is at this time that you’ll be most profitable and likely happiest with your decision to choose something you enjoy.