An Eastern Philosophy Look At Niche

I remember business 101 the first time I went to college a millenium ago. Simplicity and thinking it through was the key. Those were business principles. Do they still hold true? There was no Ebay, Google, MSN, or Yahoo! at the time.

Or is there?

There was. At least at first. All three built their "foundations" on one particular thing they did well. Ebay for instance was the place to buy and sell Pez dispensers in its early days. Yahoo was only a search directory and Google a search engine. No other real products or services. In other words they kept it very simple and did what they did best.

An entrepreneurial job is one held by a brave soul, one who is a self-starter, knows what to do, and does not know what to be told. He knows to pick himself up when he/she falls down. Knows what clients expect and goes above and beyond the call of duty to outpeform major corporations and often succeeds.

Zen is at work here. There is a yin and a yang pulling us in either direction. The secret is to get centered, focused, and open to learn.

May I make a suggestion regarding Internet gurus? The whole idea of the Internet is iconoclastic. It is anti-guru so those who try to build themselves up as Internet gurus are going against the grain. All of us or none of us are gurus. We are all in this together. We live in the information age and just because someone else has more information, resources, or money than you, does that make him/her a guru? Ever hear Bill Gates call himself a guru? He could buy out every "so-called guru" on the net with the click of a mouse. He knows better. He doesn't have to be a self-proclaimed guru. He offers a service and product, like it or not, that gives us *all the chance to be gurus.

Why sell what everyone else is selling, even if they are the "hottest products on the market". Unless you are a trust-fund baby, you won't win. I'd rather sell kitchen cutting boards that sell well than Calvin Kleins best fragrances. Why? Why not. Why beat my head against the wall competing with people who have been doing it for years, have a name, have more resources, etc. Provide a service or product that is needed, carve a niche, get wealthy, and have fun.

I looked around for items I liked and couldn't find any that that were suitable for me. So I approached an Ebay powerseller who happened to be a manufacturer of art licensed goods and we made a deal for Londons Times Cartoons Gifts and collectibles. Then I made a second deal with a print on demand manufacturer of mostly casual wear in Denver. I was my own boss and not having to rely on a manufacturer or back orders. I was a happy camper.

Copyrighting your own designs simply deepens your brand and public awareness. If you don't want to sell someone else's sell your own!

Having your own product brands you, not someone else. So if you have an idea for a product, do it. If you don't have the money, either save for it, or draw a business plan and present it to investors. Someone will eventually buy in. And you are in business!

I researched and decided to test a shop and call it Just Funny Aprons. I put my cartoon designs on it, spent a bit on adveritising, and presto, people were ordering funny aprons. The niche business principle still holds true. They were begging for unique funny aprons and still are.

Once you've found a basic product, or created one, and see that it is just a bit different enough to focus and advertise on that difference, you are on your way to a good living.

Your niche maybe be a new kind of toolbox or a special gasoline treatment or unique dog clothing, whatever it is, make it your brand and fly with it. Promote, promote promote and use your name in the promotion.

Then promote heavily with all the Internet has to offer; blogs, article marketing, ppc engines, pinging, and every other method of which you can think. Suddenly you will wake up successful. The odds are on your side. The harder you work, the more research you do, the more action you take, the luckier you get. In fact, the big dogs did the same thing to become big dogs, and they have nothing on you, if you just allow yourself to take the action. Keep an open mind and be prepared for faux pas. You may make them and that's okay. It's how many times you get back up that counts.

It is not how many times you fall down that count, but how many times you get back up. And if you use your "Zen", you will get back up. It's all a matter of physics, getting pulled back into balance.