Business Alone

If you've read anything about home business conducted on the Internet, you know how important, even critical, it is to choose a specialized niche, one that you can compete in successfully.

Generally, you want to be involved in a niche that is vertically deep as opposed to horizontally broad. If you don't know what that means, here's a simple explanation:

Every niche market has a different dynamic, a unique structure based on the various parts or segments of that niche. In addition, each will have a different set of enthusiasts.

Optimally, you would want to concentrate on depth rather than breadth of the market you're in.

In the previous post we talked about turning a hobby into an online business and why it was a good idea to choose a very deep and specialized market niche.

We also said that the subject of the niche was important and that it should usually be a topic that the owner had experience in, knowledge of, training for, and passion about.

Most often, the business owner will be most successful if he can narrow his potential customer pool down to just those folks that have a great and frenzied interest in exactly what the owner is selling.

I think you would be surprised with the number of potential prospects globally, even though the niche chosen seems way too narrow.

I'll admit it . . . I'm a victim.

So are thousands of other would-be entrepreneurs that never start a business because they just can't seem to find the traction to get going.

Sure this is a big step . . . sure there are lots of reasons to begin slowly and not jump into the water that's too deep or too swift until you know how to swim.

Yes, careful planning and thoughtful mentoring will certainly increase your chances of success.

Regardless, the first step is always the hardest!

So many, many people have great difficulty in setting themselves in motion. The reasons are many, of course, but the sad truth is that many dreams fade as the morning breaks because the dreamer can't get out of bed.

Indecisiveness, over-analysis, and the fear of making the wrong move stop many people in their tracks and paralyze them from ever planting and growing their own small business idea.

Sometimes there's a tendency to evaluate the earning potential of a particular niche by the number of potential customers that are there. Alternatively, entrepreneurs may evaluate the likelihood that a niche will be hot in the future, or possibly offer the potential for higher end products and services.

In either case, and there are other alternatives (like a person's passion for the subject of the niche, or his knowledge of the field, or previous experience in the market, etc.), one must never overlook the importance of focusing on targeting of the audience.

Whether the number of potential prospects is relatively large or small, the best results for your advertising and marketing will always come as you are able to hone in on "the perfect customers" for your products or services.

I sincerely believe that a successful business can be created around almost any marketable idea.

I also believe that every person has hidden away in his/her mind, a potentially profitable business idea that can be made marketable in the right hands.

Your task, as I see it, is to identify the idea(s) that has this great potential and test it to the extent that you're comfortable with it becoming the basis of your new business going forward.

So how do you pull this good business idea from your mind? Where do you go to find it?

Here's an exercise that anyone can do that should help you come up with some great and personalized ideas for the subject of your new online business.

Spend some time and find a niche that takes advantage of the areas of specialty for which you are uniquely skilled or qualified, but which also keep your interest and stoke your passion.

The steps are fairly elementary. I would recommend doing this exercise with your spouse or a close friend that knows you well - that way you'll be able to get a second opinion about your suitability to enter this niche.

In the previous two posts, we discussed a technique for drawing up a very specific list of business subjects that could become the basis of your online enterprise. They are designed to take advantage of your past life experiences, education, skills and passion.

There is a good chance there will be duplicate items on the list. If you find them, cross all the duplicates off so there is only one listing left, but for each duplicate you crossed off, place a star by the one remaining. (For example, if there were three entries the same, you are now left with one entry and two stars by it.)

Now re-list the items from top to bottom in a new list: the items with the most stars at the top, then the next most, then the next, etc.

For all the remaining items with no stars, list them in descending order according to how much you now enjoy doing them, or working with them, or in some way participating in that subject. The entries you enjoy most are ranked above the ones you don't enjoy so much.

Who says Internet business can't be adapted and put to profitable use by a youngster?

Here's an example of a young boy in my neighborhood that has chosen the Internet as his business contact and delivery mechanism.

You may have heard the slightly cynical phrase - "If you can't figure out how to do something on your computer, just find a six-year-old." There's a whole heap of truth to that observation. Anyway . . .

I learned about this kid in my neighborhood, who shall remain anonymous in case the child labor law spies are lurking about, that decided to run his business online.

I've often thought about the myriad of reasons for startup business failure. Because creating and operating a business involves so many details, it's easy to understand why problems galore plague entrepreneurs.

Many mess-ups are not fatal.

The owner can recover from non-crippling problems that result from unexpected circumstances or misjudged steps. Persistence and adaptability are key ingredients in the owner's arsenal of personality traits that are needed to overcome big mistakes.

But there is one very tough problem to correct: a poor choice of the basic business idea.

If the whole subject of your business is wrong - if you have employed an incorrect model - or you have overestimated the "salability" of your product - you could be in for a very rude awakening.

Some call it "the paralysis of analysis."

Others refer to it as "a mental block" or "brain freeze."

But whatever you call it, don't let it get in the way of you coming up with a sound and workable business idea.

You see, more than a few aspiring entrepreneurs mistakenly believe that they must come up with an idea that will appeal to the masses - that will become the "next big thing." If they don't get that flash of inspiration, they hesitate to get going on anything.

Some folks believe that ordinary ideas have all been tried and unless they find a new or innovative idea they won't become successful in online business.

I say, "don't worry about finding the perfect idea - just find a good idea, test it, and then develop your business around being exceptional in your niche in some way."

Many entrepreneurs struggle to come up with good ideas. It only takes one, however, to lay the foundation of a profitable business. But don't worry - your idea doesn't necessarily need to be perfect to allow you to start a business.

Here's a tip: instead of trying to think of the exact, final idea that will be the basis of your business, it might help to start out surveying the field. In other words, begin by looking at general areas or industries rather than focused, tight subjects.

Start at the wide end of the funnel and narrow your choices and focus as you move down the funnel toward the small end. There will be a lot of areas or industries that you'll be able to eliminate right off the bat to narrow the field.

Let me tell you about some general categories of Internet business that have historically been of great interest to lots of customers. These are not niches - they're just wide areas or subjects that have proven to hold many potential prospects.

Coming up with a workable home business idea is only a beginning. If whatever that idea is never develops beyond a thought, your dream of a real business will never happen.

In fact, let me be so blunt as to say that your chances for success in any business creation attempt will be directly proportional to your ability to translate ideas, and feelings, and thoughts into executed action steps.

Every new product and service that you see in the world today is the result of someone's acting upon an idea and following through by executing a series of steps that eventually resulted in the product's launch.

There may have been many, many people that had a similar, or even the exact same idea.

Entrepreneurs are a diversified bunch. They appear in all sorts of sizes, temperaments, ages, and with various backgrounds.

Some produce tons of workable business ideas in a year. Others seem to struggle to come up with one good idea in a decade.

Regardless of where you fit on the continuum, there is a very underutilized place you can go to get all the good ideas you'll ever need to keep you in business for a long time to come.

Go online!

In a previous post I talked a little about the importance of being honest with yourself as you undertake any business creation.

For the solo entrepreneur, especially (because you are the business), it is critical that you begin on solid ground - not taking anything for granted, not overestimating your abilities, time you'll have available for the business, or your customer market potential.

You can't afford to keep a closed eye to any one of the many business realities that can be evaluated up front before so you don't lose a lot of time or money traveling down a dead end.

By asking questions at the outset, you are forced into analyzing, researching, and evaluating the information at hand in order to come up with honest answers that will lead to your business being planted on solid ground.

Otherwise, you may cripple your business output at a later time because you ignored, or chose to "skim over" some critical details that might have influenced your decision to even move forward at the outset.

Here are a few ideas of some information business niche markets that I have seen on the Internet that seem to be popular and growing (in terms of the number of new businesses cropping up.)

Will you be stealing or be viewed as a "copycat" if you join in this business space?

Not at all, as long as you don't "borrow" other people's logos, web graphics, content, etc.

The reason there is room for others in this space is because most of these businesses rely on local marketing, word of mouth, and clients that will be in your geographic area. Many of these ideas are work-at-home businesses conducted solo on the Internet.

It's a nasty name, "swipe files," but it's an idea you should implement immediately if you haven't already gotten yours started!

If you're like me, you run across great little ideas and tidbits on the Internet every day.

But if you don't record that idea, or web site, or reference, or "how to" hint for later recall, you will have forgotten that even existed within a day or two.

If you've been involved in copywriting, direct ad creation, web site development, graphics creation, email headlining, and any number of other online business tasks, you've probably heard the term "swipe files."

That's kind of a nasty or unpleasant term, but the concept is smart and the results of you building such files will be significant as you venture into your new information business.

If you don't know what a "swipe file" is, or you're not convinced you need one (or several), read on.

Working for yourself often seems like the perfect solution for finding a way to earn a living and also enjoy some freedom of expression and the flexibility to set your own work schedule.

In addition, the idea of getting paid what you're worth and not having to share the profit of your own labors really appeals to many.

But before you dive into a solo business, you would do well to discuss the implications of being your own boss and "going it alone" with others that have already chosen this path and are actually making a living this way.

Their insights and advice will most likely do one of two things: strengthen your resolve to strike out down this path, or bring doubts into your mind about whether this type of business is really something that you will be happy and productive doing.

Often magazines and news articles about self-employment include tests or checklists that you can review to see if you possess the traits or qualities that are necessary to become a profitable business owner.

You might wonder how accurate such "predictors" are of future success.

My experience in studying a number of these tests is that results vary somewhat depending upon the audience polled and the skill of the survey designer and the results analyst. Nothing is black and white.

So are these predictors useless? Do they have any value to aspiring solo business owners? Here's my take:

Indicators or predictors are just that - they give us some clues about what might be - based upon probabilities captured in repeated tests. There are always exceptions and cases that fall outside the expected range of results.

In the previous post I suggested that there were some personality traits that were commonly measured (through self analysis testing) that seem to be indicators of the entrepreneurial mind set and qualities necessary for future business success.

I also cautioned that if you don't possess all these qualities, and still desire to begin a business venture, you should not be swayed from your decision on the basis of apparent lack of "the right stuff."

Some traits can be "learned" or acquired over time and some may not be quite so relevant to success in certain types of business that a solo operator may have chosen.

There are special challenges and unique rewards for married couples that create and operate a home business in tandem.

This kind of joint project can create new feelings of unity, togetherness, and working for a common goal that many couples don't experience in their hectic "do your own thing" lives.

On the other hand, business partnerships involving mates, if not handled properly, can also intensify negative feelings toward one another, add stress and pressure to a marriage, and drive a wedge in the heart of the relationship.

For these reasons, some couples would never consider working together in a small business, not wanting to risk possible clashes and avoidable irritations.

Anyone can choose a name. Anything will get you by. But the way I see it . . . why not find the very best name you can that will give value and meaning to your business?

Sure it will take a little bit of effort and some time to come up with the perfect name, but I can tell you that finding it will pay you great dividends over time.

Especially on the Internet, your business name sets you apart, defines your niche, and is the address that customers will be hunting for if your marketing reaches them.

So what's in a name? What considerations are important as you mull over the choices that you have? How do you find the best alternative available?

Does the headline of your sales ad or marketing piece really deserve 80% of the time you spend on writing the ad copy?

That's the suggestion of author Ted Nicholas, one of the all time greats in direct marketing.

He figures that between 50 and 80% of the sales generated in direct advertising are attributable to the ad's headline.

That's a pretty amazing statistic, but maybe not totally surprising given the way readers skim copy and jump from heading to heading.

Just a few years ago, if you owned a solo business and contracted your time and expertise out on an hourly basis, you probably called yourself a freelancer.

Maybe you were good at writing, or typing, or graphics design, or doing research.

Whatever the skill you possessed, you found you were able to hire your time out to others on an hourly or "per job" basis. It seemed pretty nice at the time.

Hopefully, you enjoyed whatever it was that you did because you were being paid to perform that function only as you were able to produce. Typically, the more hours you spent in someone's service, the more you got paid.

Most of the professional solo businesses that I am aware of have followed a very traditional model in how the business is set up and operated.

Most attorneys, doctors, counselors, and accountants design their practices around the way their predecessors did business before them.

They may decide to locate in a single office or they might opt for a group setting where several others of their practice get together to take advantage of a single building with a common reception area, staff of office assistants, and shared billing system, parking lot, and rest rooms.

Each professional is in business for himself, but his business only thrives as he is able to apply his trade.

He bills at an hourly rate, sees whom he chooses, and sets his own schedule, although his assistants really handle the appointments and flow of work throughout the day.

Every business begins with an idea. The idea may or may not be your own, but it will determine, to a large extent, the success of your business.

So it follows that finding a good idea, the right idea for you at this time and place, is paramount in your attempt to begin a solo business.

But how do you know whether you have a good business idea or not? How do you know that the product or service you will offer will be something that others will buy?

Maybe you trust your brother-in-law Harvey's opinion that "this business is going to revolutionize the future of every man, woman, and child living in the free world."

Information businesses that are created, developed, promoted, operated, and delivered over the Internet are "the perfect business" because the product or service requires no employees, no stored inventory, no physical packaging, and no physical delivery.

These businesses can be operated from anywhere around the globe with just an Internet connection and the proper business set-up!

But for these businesses to exist, the following conditions must be met:

Preparation for business success can come in many ways.

Some follow a regimented career path through college and possibly graduate school to learn the art and science of becoming a business owner.

Others choose to get their education from home study courses, books, tapes, and other media presentations.

Most businesses are started by folks that don't have formal training in business. The school of "hard knocks" is their educational backdrop.

Can you imagine the satisfaction, pride, and profitability you could enjoy if your solo business was something very extraordinary?

Most businesses online these days are comparatively bland. They sell products and services that are accepted by customers and the companies for the most part operate as mirror images of one another.

But once in a great while, a business elevates itself to the apex of its niche because it is so radically different and remarkable as to be incomparable and considered in a league of its own.

I remember vividly a debate carried on some thirty years ago in one of my graduate school classes that centered on the question of whether it was a good idea to encourage students to set up and operate for-profit businesses prior to their completion of formal education.

There was a very distinct minority that took the side of believing in student run businesses. I was not one of them.

I felt that education shouldn't be interrupted by business world training and pressures. The classroom needed full attention and focus at this critical time.

I was actually born about 40 years too soon.

If I were a teenager today I'd be busy creating a network of web site businesses that I'd set up to grow over time, that could be run mostly on autopilot, and that would passively generate growing income for me for many years to come.

I'd study and learn (mostly online) how to use computers to automate business operation. I'd carefully watch which online business owners were being successful and I'd try to follow their lead.

There's no doubt about it. The number one reason why people come to the Internet is to get information. They come to read the latest news, comparison shop, find answers to questions, communicate with friends and associates via email or voice, seek out entertainment, or play games.

Early on, the Internet was mostly a collection of free sites and information that anyone could access. Sometimes registration was required, but in most cases paid access was not even a thought of the web site owner. Why?

I suppose there are several reasons. The mechanism for charging customers was not generally available, people didn't understand that financial transactions could be done securely, and a range of software enablers were not yet available for things like secure shopping carts, real time authentication, and digital delivery.

Buying trends emerge online over time to give business owners, product developers, and marketers clues as to the kinds of things that sell and the strategies that perform best in putting the products in the hands of the customer.

One trend that many have noticed of late is the attraction of "simple and easy" with regard to online purchases. It seems that the public prefers to buy products that are easy to use, easy to understand, take little or no set up or skill to activate, and that are simple to maintain.

Why does this trend seem to be so prevalent? Is it that the population is generally lazy? Do we not have the time to worry about learning to use and care for things? Are there better uses of our discretionary time?

Creating and operating a new business can be an extreme challenge.

There are so many details to worry about, so many things that can go wrong, so many unknowns and variables in every niche market . . .

It is a daunting task to undertake such an unnerving challenge.

New businesses require huge amounts of time, owner effort, and uncommon commitment.

Some don't even begin to pay a return on the initial investment for many years . . . and others never do provide a return.

Small business is never easy.

I don't care what tales and stories you hear of entrepreneurs coming up with the perfect idea at the perfect time.

Most such tales are just that. Millionaires aren't typically created overnight and they don't automatically or magically appear when an Internet company goes public.

So to suggest that a great piece of entrepreneurial advice and wisdom can be boiled down into three tiny words is really heresy in many ways.

Often entrepreneurs and small business owners have a difficult time trying to keep from being "stale" in their businesses.

By that, I mean they struggle to come up with fresh ideas, new and unique products, and creative solutions to the problems and wants of their market niche.

Many feel that they must continue to sell the same old things they've always sold, that they have no way of being able to offer brand new services or goods.

One of the most overlooked steps in web site publishing, product creation, and article writing is the "chore" of first doing market research.

It's a chore to most people and therefore it is often neglected or shunned altogether because performing the research takes time, a certain amount of "know how" and definitely some amount of your precious time.

But the consequences of not first doing research are almost always negative and will certainly cost you time and money in the long run.