When my usual work is disrupted, does changing direction mean entering a completely different industry?

Not necessarily. First consider whether your existing skills can be used in other ways or through different kinds of collaboration. You do not have to abandon everything you already know simply because you are considering a change.

During the pandemic, a fellow practitioner who did nail work could no longer receive clients at home as usual. She considered online sales but knew she did not enjoy constantly promoting products. Later, someone invited her to collaborate at a studio while continuing her nail work. The other party would help book clients and work on a commission basis, and also offered not to charge rent or utilities. This was an opportunity being arranged at the time; the collaboration had not yet begun.

An opportunity like this allows us to consider together what we can do, what we are willing to do, and how a collaboration could work in practice. At the same time, we should prepare several possible directions because external circumstances may change again. Seeing a potential turning point still requires thinking about what to do next.

I have also used long-distance coaches as an example. I used to love taking coaches to central and southern Taiwan. Later, high-speed rail became convenient, and I switched to that too. When customers’ choices change, operators need to consider in advance whether their existing vehicles could be used as tour coaches or combined with domestic tourism.

This was a possible direction I suggested, and I know that putting it into practice is not simple. However, if you hope to keep operating, you have to face changes in the environment and prepare and adjust in advance. You cannot keep waiting until the old approach is no longer sustainable before starting to look for another way.