Much is said about businesses failing because they can't compete with BIG Business and Corporate Markets. Why would you want to?
The key to success in a small business startup is to find your niche.
One small business marketer I know has set up hundreds of products on her marketing site, and continues to whine about Amazon taking her products and her buyers. She's never found her own niche, but she does sell some products. Instead of focusing her business on a given niche, and selling to a select group of people who will love and promote her products, she's got visions of an Amazon style market. It won't happen. She's a one man shop. She can't appeal to a market of millions without adding people, and she can't add people until she's making money herself.
Start Smart -
If you're building your own business, start smart by finding a specific niche of people that you can serve well.
The key to starting a business successfully is finding a specific niche of people whom you can serve and serving them with solutions that make an impact. They'll share your business with others when they appreciate what they get from you. The biggest reality of marketing is that when your business offers solutions to the right groups of people, you don't have to spend a lot of money on marketing, your buying customers market for you.
Specialize -
One stellar business model that has stood out for me as a business consultant was a styling salon in a small California coastal town. The stylist had dreamed of having her own business, and she had a good start in that direction, but she needed a push to get her over the edge and out of "someone else's shop" to get started. It all happened when she realized that her Saturdays were being booked up with weddings.
She loved wedding hair and specialty California colors. So she specialized with a great color concept, and wedding hair that makes style magazines. Her small California coastal town has a big wedding market, and she reached out to that niche. As the "Go-To-Stylist" for California coastal weddings, her niche is pretty small, but one wedding a week with color and style showcase results brings her some spectacular income results.
The results were pragmatic enough that when her father, an amateur photographer retired from his parts manager job, he bought a new camera, learned the wedding photography trade and set up shop. Together they've created a stellar niche, and a great income for two families.
Small Businesses Succeed in Niche Markets -
If you're looking for a business to start up, don't look at the BIGGEST businesses to find your competition. Find a need in a small niche market and offer a solution to that particular group of people. You'll build your business faster, grow your customer base to greater levels, and achieve more success in a small niche than you EVER could in a big business market. And it'll happen without spending your whole budget on marketing and advertising.
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