Recently I visited a client in the DC area and on my way home I saw the wall in the picture below (which I cropped so as not to have any people in it).
It’s a sign of the times; the bank of pay phones is now a bank of charging stations. It was only 20 years ago that one of the largest (scam) business opportunities was selling people private pay phones (not owned by the phone company).
I wonder how much money people looking for supplemental income lost buying pay phones. And remember Internet kiosks in public places and the infomercials for them?
Things move fast these days, especially when technology is involved (and can you name a business that doesn’t use some kind of technology?).
Now my first thought when I saw the charging stations wasn’t about entrepreneurs investing in pay phone opportunities. My first thought was that my clients and I need to keep on top of this fast moving world because the more you think technology and fast-change doesn’t affect you the sooner it will slam you against the wall.
Every time you see what used to pay phones you’ll be wise to think about how you can stay ahead of your industry’s pack.
“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex. It takes a touch of genius and lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” (Economist) E.F. Schumacher