The Niche

I like that as a name for a coffeeshop. Go grab it while you can! Actually I had another name as well for a cafe, which Nico and considered registering the domain for and haven't. I mean, truly, there's so much a girl can do.... sometimes I wish I had more time or learned to use it more effectivily instead of prodding ideas around. So if you're in the market for a name, no problemo, just email me.

Right: The Niche. As I've told you before, niche is the future. Why? Because we are unindated with information every minute through modern technology and all the vibes we receive emitted by other human beings. Trying to make sense of it all we make selections or develop hard hearing. In reality this means people listen to you less or hear less of what you are trying to get accross. Time is short and peoples attention span is half of what it was 10 years ago. We have to differentiate in a market to make ourselves heard, we have to repeat our words to ensure the other party has snapped up some of it. Whether we're understood is another matter. (Check this by repeating your question again.)

So: how to create a poppy syndrome for the better? Develop your brand and message. Find you USP (unique selling point) and stick with it. I've noticed with everyone trying to sell their product you really have to look at that which sets you apart. For example: I've been doing some homework into where to advertise my woman accesory designs and http://www.etsy.com/ is a fine starting point. There's one downside: it's becoming more and more mainstream as more people join and therefor it's now flooded with a lot of the same products which dillutes the quality and snazziness. I liked the site better 2 years ago. The site has grown too big and therefor too large for the niche to be very effective or effective at all. It's like trying to get your babyclothing label noticed at K-Mart so obviously it makes sense to market it differently. I have luckily discovered another website that has not yet developed the same syndrome. It would be more sensible for me to invest my energy there eventhough less people may visit it, but at least the ones that do see my work instead of it being drowned out by the average status quo. Better to find your target customer then to try selling to everyone. Sell less in quantities, but sell more quality.

"Many companies and business strategies right now are focused on not necessarily catering to the masses, but specializing in a smaller subset of customers. These subsets are called niche markets. A niche market is a focused and targeted portion of the total market. A company or a product category will address a need that is not recognized by the mainstream market. These ventures are generally profitable because of a lack of interest or specialty resources in large businesses. The key to capitalizing on a niche market is to find or develop a niche that has customers who are accessible, that is growing fast enough, and that is not owned by one established vendor already. If no one else sells it you have found your niche!
www.jdsblog.com/2006/09/22/business-building-101-niche-markets/

So there you go, don't sell another latte but either go for the simple black or the one with hazelnut cream. Don't go for the standard sock but the one where you're feet actually stay warm. Don't hang a dead deer on the wall but a design from cardboard or a knitted version.

Find your talent and develop your niche. There's too much of the same around already. Recession or no, there's always opportunities to be had so get moving. Stop poking your nose, poke the fire instead.