Business Alone

There should be a number of considerations that you look at before you set a pricing structure to your products.

But many entrepreneurs don't think much about an overall strategy. They believe they are limited in their ability to set prices beyond a certain range.

Let's say you decide to sell a DVD, for instance, that you produced yourself called "The Ups and Downs of Exploring the Grand Canyon on a Pogo Stick!"

If you play the "we guarantee the lowest prices" game, you will usually regret the decision. Of course, only you can be the judge as to your approach to pricing your products and competing in your niche markets.

But I will tell you that unless you are into razor thin margins and moving lots and lots of products, undercutting competitors is a chancy game - at best.

Here's why:

It's fun to skim through a number of new business plans in a short period of time. I always take special note of the sales projections and compare set against set.

Of course, there is probably no merit in comparing apples to oranges as I'm suggesting I like to do. But it sometimes becomes apparent which prospective owners are attempting to be objective, and which are merely dreaming.

Even if you don't understand specific market demand, you will get a distinct "feel" for the amount of hype and exaggeration that floats around in the numbers and the logic.

There is a tendency among new business owners to price their products and services too low in the hope that they will attract more customers and not be given a reputation of being overpriced.

There are several problems with this strategy.

First, the kind of information business we propose for solo Internet entrepreneurs won't have any direct competition. The products, information and business execution are likely to be very unique and tailored to the owner's personality and experience.

You've probably noticed over your lifetime that companies dealing in quality products and services tend to remain in business over a long period of time.

Others that prefer to push inferior products - and sometimes just good or average quality offerings - usually have a much shorter life cycle.

Why is it? Wouldn't you logically think that cheaper and more affordable items would outsell more expensive ones if they both performed the same basic functions?

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.

There is a huge amount of talk and banter these days about niche business and the necessity to focus your efforts in very targeted segments of your market sector.

There is a lot less open talk about what it means to position your business in a certain way or stance and how to do it within your specialized niche.

"Positioning" very simply refers to the choices you will be making about how you desire your business to be viewed by others. You will be determining your positioning either consciously by the actions you take, or automatically if you don't do anything to influence your position.

You business positioning differentiates your company and brand from others in the same niche, your competitors, by:

Most small business owners look for additional sales in increased advertising and marketing.

But there are other strategies to explore and some unique methods of driving more sales in your business without turning up any additional customers.

One of those strategies involves up selling - offering additional products to the sales of your current buying pool. You're not having to locate new first time buyers . . . you're simply selling more to those who buy a product.

My wife is affectionately known around our house as "the Coupon Queen."

She dissects the local daily newspaper and all the mail flyers for coupons that she can use locally to get discounts on products that she buys.

I have found that using this same technique in your digital business can be especially effective in drawing traffic to your web site and boosting the sales that you get on your products.

The advantages to using coupons are many. If you include an expiration date, the coupon encourages buyers to check out what you have sooner rather than later.

They give your prospects a reason to click on your active links right now for fear that if they wait, their chance at a good deal may have vanished.

Of course the Internet small business has many formats to choose from when advertising its products and services.

I believe using a variety of methods is generally preferable to always relying upon one format. Your customers may tire from the same looking message received repeatedly.

One of the most effective selling formats is the personal letter from you (the small business owner) to the customer. It's a proven strategy that often works better than any other because it's:

(1) personal - most of us are much more likely to buy a product that is personally recommended than one we have no human tie to;

(2) intimate - we feel that a personal letter is not something that would be shared with lots of other people, hence we view it as tailored to our own needs or geared to our own circumstance (even though that may not be the case since the same "personal" letter might be sent to thousands of prospects);

Every business needs to identify something that sets it apart from all other businesses in the same niche.

This principle is called the USP or "unique selling proposition" by some, and others call it a variety of similar things. The principle is simple: you should attempt to capitalize on some characteristic or trait in your business that you can be known for -- some differentiating aspect that only you can claim.

It seems in almost every industry niche there is at least one business that desires to claim it has the lowest prices. It often brands itself with the slogan, "we will not be undersold."

To me, that is exactly the wrong message that a solo business ought to extend. My feeling is that solo businesses will almost always have difficulty trying to compete on the basis of product pricing.

I believe in small business! I believe in entrepreneurs!

I believe that anyone can create and operate their own successful small business if they will choose a viable niche and apply sound business strategies and principles (which you can learn here).

My favorite solo Internet business strategy suggests you create an information-based business around your education, training, interests, knowledge and passion.

So what is this "passion" I'm talking about? Does it mean you have to like the subject of your business?

Well, not exactly. You see, passion is much more comprehensive and deep than simply "liking" what you do.

I saw this question in a marketing magazine recently and it got me to thinking about the importance of defining what you expect your ad to accomplish.

Well there are lots of different types of ads and so there are multiple outcomes that could be targeted for your specific ad depending upon its purpose.

My guess is, most small business ads are pretty ineffective. Let's be truthful here - how many times has your ad pulled the type of response that you had hoped for?

Usually, ads under-perform our goals and sales never seem to overwhelm us on the positive side.