An Eastern Philosophy Look At Niche

When I was in college (the first time around), I was always told to find a niche and keep it simple. Little did I know at the time, I was learning a sound business principle. After all, there is nothing simple about Ebay, Yahoo, or Google.

Could I be mistaken?

They told us in college, yet again, this time around "do what you know and do best". Do what you love and the money will come. Yada yada. I researched how other businesses started. Peg at Ebay knew a lot about Pez dispensers so that was their focus the first year or so.

I'm an entrepreneur. My mind is complex. Chances are, if you are reading this, so is yours. Some days we are ready to conquer the world, some days we are in bed late licking our wounds from trying to conquer it yesterday.

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.

Take advantage of the opportunities on the net by spending a few extra hours a week researching. Most e-books I've found are replicas of others and offer nothing new or cutting-edge. All the information in them are free at websites and usually better-written with less typos. And I tend to run from Internet gurus anyway. I suggest you do the same.

We learned in college not to follow the big sellers necessarily. That is because generally someone with more resources and money has already grabbed them and can outsell us by a mile. Find a niche that you like, that you know is a needed product or service, it need not be fancy or sexy, but one that sells, and you can make much more than the Ebay powersellers competing with each other for Gucci, Dell, Armani, and Rolexes.

When or if you can't find something on the web to sell you like, then try creating your own. If you are an artist, got to Cafe Press or one of their competitors and digitally produce products. Let them worry with inventory and orders and such.

You have an advantage if you owned copyrighted art or slogans. Take advantage. There are plenty of print on demand companies who will do all the worl for you.

I own several stores that sell a myriad of products, but none of them really specialize in a niche product. I want to try what the superstars tried when they got started. My "success" evolved over the years by having a following; but not necessarily because I was using the marketing technique of "finding a niche".

So after more research I opened a "funny apron shop"; yes that's right, funny aprons. Nothing too sexy about funny aprons of course. I don't expect Austin Powers to come forward and say "Funny aprons, Shagadellic!!!" But you never know. The minute I started listing the stores in directories and search engines, people started buying. Yes, a cyber-field-of-dreams. Build it and they will come.

Then research further, and find a product on the web that people need, and use, and make it a little different than what others are selling.

Sell to others something you would like to buy yourself at a price you would like to pay. Transcend your own soul and put yourself in his/her shoes. We are not all that much different.

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.

By: Rick London

Cartoonist Rick London, founder of Londons Times is famous on the Internet. He started in 1997 with nothing, in a metal warehouse, and now has one of the biggest comic gift and t-shirt mega-stores on the net. He recently launched Londons Times Superstore funny t-shirts, and more

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