Finding your niche – Launching a successful small business

You may be poised to launch a well-planned, well-supported business.

You may boast a top-notch skill set to back it up.

You may even have cut the ribbon and thrown open the doors.

And you may not have the foggiest what your niche is.

Finding the “sweet spot” – your place in the marketplace – is vital to your small business success. Discovering and developing your niche can take time, however, requiring trial and error. Surviving long enough to recognize growth can make or break your business venture. Competition, particularly in today’s economy, is fierce in virtually any given market and even the best laid business plans can be impacted by shifts and realities of the marketplace.

But going in with a clear sense of the challenges can give you the advantage from the start. Ideally, you’ve given yourself the upper edge by checking out the competition, doing your research, and absorbing everything you can about your industry before even thinking about a company name or logo, let alone setting up shop. Even if you’ve already taken the plunge and your doors are open, you can still find your own unique way to success by putting the following into action:

  • Knowing exactly what and who your competition is is the first step, so if you’ve not yet done your homework, check out 10 Tips on How to Research Your Competition. The SBA is also a terrific resource for the small business entrepreneur.
  • Think creatively. Look at your business from the angle of your prospective customer. Meeting a unique or unfilled need is the number one means of creating a niche market.
  • Keep flexible and open to the possibilities. If you’re already in business, stay tuned in to client or customer response – and consider adapting the product or service you offer accordingly.
  • Gain new skills – or brush up on the ones you have. You might find that by enhancing your talents you expand your potential, or create the ability to offer a variation on a theme with your business.
  • Take the research, brainstorming, and customer feedback you’ve accumulated, and see how it can be translated into doing something that you love – really love – to do. Being passionate about your work is key to the truly successful entrepreneur.
  • Be prepared financially for it to take some time to hit your stride. Business may ebb and flow as you find your place.

As a copywriter and editor, finding my place in the business has been challenging, fun and rewarding. Research of the industry was key early on, and I remained flexible to the expressed needs of my clients. Today, my broad experience in website content and marketing is one of the areas of expertise that has come to the forefront in my list of copywriting services – a niche that I enjoy.

Your industry of choice may be one that’s saturated. But with research, hard work, and a willingness to listen to the marketplace, you’ll discover your own niche – a unique angle that will help you rise to the top.