Identifying
your Niche
by Vishal P. Rao
The Internet has become
a valuable source of information and purchasing
tool for today’s consumer. With the click
of a mouse you can find almost anything from products
to services on the web, and you can shop for the
best prices and values all hours of the day from
the convenience of your own home. For some of
these same reasons, mail order businesses are
also on the rise with consumers finding better
values from companies that don’t have the
overhead associated with a storefront.
With everything at the consumers’
fingertips, the home business owner can also benefit
from today’s market culture. Just as consumers
can shop from their living rooms and kitchens,
business owners can conduct business in the convenience
of their own homes. If you are looking to set
your own hours, have less commuting time, and
enjoy the general freedoms of working for yourself,
starting a home business may be right for you.
One important business plan
to attend to when you first start developing a
home business is to invest time in finding your
niche.
So what does this mean,
finding your niche? Identifying a niche is about
finding a distinct segment of consumer interest,
then capitalizing on it. It means finding that
particular spot in the business world where you
can stand out amongst others. For example there
may be hundreds of booksellers out there, but
how many specialize in books on a particular interest
of yours? If your home business focuses on selling
books, you may be competing with the hundreds
of other sellers. But if your home business focuses
on selling books about outdoor sports, you may
find yourself in direct competition with fewer
businesses.
Now that you know what a
niche is, how do you go about identifying yours?
You can start by asking your self a few important
questions:
What am I good at?
Take an inventory of your
skills. Are you a good mechanic? Are you a wiz
with home decorating? Do your friends all come
to you when they have computer problems to fix?
Do you know almost everything there is to know
about a particular topic? Find the things you
already have some skill in, and start a list.
You may be surprised where your talents lie.
What do I enjoy doing?
What things do you love
to do so much that you would probably do them
whether there was a profit involved or not? The
best place to start with this question is to look
at your hobbies. These are often the things you
pay a fairly significant amount of money to be
involved in. Why not check it out to see if you
can make a profit at these very same things? Starting
a home business can take a lot of time and effort,
and having a passion for the focus of your business
can be a great source of the stamina necessary
to make it through the difficulties in the beginning.
What is there a need for?
After you jot down what
you are good at and what you love to do, it’s
time to assess the market for these things. Are
you always looking for supplies for your hobby,
but can’t ever seem to find what you need?
It’s very likely others are having the same
difficulty, and a home business that supplies
this need would be very well received by this
segment of the market. Or maybe you love to decorate
your kids’ birthday cakes, and your neighbors
would rather pick theirs up at the local grocery
store but can’t stand the small selection.
This is a market for which you already have the
skills and interest to meet the needs.
If you are planning to do your business entirely
on the Internet, one great tool you can use to
check whether there is market for your idea is
the Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool: http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
You simply enter the keyword
that people might use to search for your product
and it’ll return the number of times that
term was searched on Overture search engine last
month. Amazing isn’t it?
Here's another great keyword
reporting tool:
http://www.wordtracker.com/
The Ultimate Tool
to increase your web site traffic. Discover the
right keywords, and you'll see your traffic skyrocket!
But don’t be afraid
of markets where you may have some skill, but
have a lot to learn. As long as you have the willingness
to put time and effort into becoming an expert
in your niche, you will be able to develop the
specialization you need to be a leader in the
market.
Once you answer these questions
and find the distinct area that will set your
business apart from others, you have identified
your niche and are ready to develop your home
business.
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