Minding your business.. How to find your niche.

Good Morning fellow marketeers! Last night we held our weekly marketing chat at Make Mine Pink and had quite a lively discussion. If you remember, last week we talked about setting attainable goals in your business. This week we spent the first part of chat discussing and congratulating all that set and met their goals. Remember.. set small goals.. attainable goals.. just make them measurable and give them a deadline. Feel the success of reaching your goals!

Then moving on.. our topic of the week was.. Finding YOUR niche. I've discussed this in chat before and will undoubtedly discuss it again. It bears re-visiting often. Especially when we get a group of ultra creative and talented women together in one place. It's easy to want to have your hands in everything!

Remember back in the day of small town shops? It wasn’t as critical to find your niche the. A general store that carried a variety of merchandise did really well. But remember, there wasn’t a tremendous amount of competition in that small town setting. Having an Internet business is another matter completely. You are competing with millions of other “web stores” and having a niche and targeting a niche market can be critical to you success.

Personally I think that just being a part of Make Mine Pink is defining us in one sense. Clearly we’re not a sporting good center, or a place to buy medical products. But even within the folds of Make Mine Pink, we need individual identities. Finding that identity is our challenge for this week!

We discussed how some people sell a large variety of products and want to continue doing so, and for some, that's ok. But everyone has some aspect of their business that they particularly love. What interests you the most about what you do? Where is your passion? Where is your knowledge?
I think if you start making a list starting with the things you love to do the most and work your way down you'll be really surprised. Then make a list of what sells the best? Do you see any relationship in what you love to do and what sells the best? I bet you will! A passion is hard to hide.

What makes you/your business interesting? What’s your hook? Your appeal?
(example) You sell vintage linens.. You also collect them. You know everything there is to know about vintage tablecloths! That passion and love for what you collect along with your knowledge is what will make you stand out. ANYONE can sell a vintage tablecloth. Being established as an expert is what is going to bring people back to you. Now add that to spectacular customer service.. And you can’t be beat.
What things do you know the most about.. No matter how trivial, that information is of interest to someone. (your niche market)

I know I’m repeating myself… but you MUST do what you LOVE.. You MUST Do what you KNOW …Become and expert.. If you have a passion for something, you are already far ahead of your competition. Add knowledge to that.. And you have the market cornered. Once you know what your niche is, you just need to get the message out there to everyone else!
This year.. As we establish our niche.. And find our confidence and apply our knowledge, we’re going to see unbelievable changes. I already see it happening with several members. The transformation is pretty amazing.

I truly believe that we are as successful as we want to be. And that most.. if not all the blocks we face are blocks that we have put there in our own path. There’s absolutely no room for doubt when you have your own business.
I’ve always said.. Having your own business is not for the faint of heart. We take chances, make mistakes, but that’s ok. We are also strong, passionate, knowledgeable and have something to share with the world. I have absolutely no guilt about making money while doing what I love. So.. What do YOU love?

This week… dig deep. Make your lists.. Find your passion.. Your area of expertise. I’m not saying don’t sell other products.. But focus on one specialized area.

Comments

[Roxie Morrow]

Hi Joyce. Thank you for this never ending source of business marketing that one girl can ever have. I appreciate all the feedback we give one another, it helps to get our niche's figured out and our business strategies prioritized.
I'm looking forward to another great year at MMP and so many of us making our mark in the business world.