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Casual Articles - Four Simple Steps To Brainstorming Your Business Niche
Sun Zi Art Of War - Three Business Lessons From Deployment Of Troops In Mountainous Region Pride gives us all kinds of self-development and educational information products and these, too, are limitless in number.After crossing the mountains, move and stay close to the valleys. For a commanding view and to ensure better chances of survival, occupy high grounds. When the enemy has occupied high grounds, do not attempt an assault. These are principles for deploying troops in mountainous terrain. Chapter Nine, Sun Zi Art of WarAbove are the principles of moving into mountainous region. Let us look at how these principles can be applied to business.Business Application”After crossing the mountains, move and stay close to the valleys.”The reason why Sun Zi advocate that after crossing the mountains, troops is to stay close to the valleys because this is where usually food and water are abundant and close by. From here and other parts of Sun Zi Art of War, we have seen that Sun Zi place great emphasis on supplies and provisions, as they are very important to troops. Thus it is important Space doesn’t allow here, but I’m sure you get the idea. You need to submit your proposed niche to the test of whether it falls within one of these basic and very strong drivers of human behaviour. Find that it does, and you’re ready for the next test. You now need to determine that there will be a ready market for a product within your niche by finding out how many people are currently searching the web for information on it. Fortunately this couldn’t be easier to do. Check out the free toolbar at www.alexa.com or get over to http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/. Simply enter a term related to your proposed niche and see how many times it was searched for last month. Above 5 – 6,000 is generally regarded as the minimum viable figure to look for. You might also check out the hot sellers on Amazon and eBay for more ideas. So here it is in summary: List what you love, or would love, to do List what you know, or would love to research, how to do Match the result against a core human drive or “buying emotion” Check the numbers of people actually searching for information in your niche And there you have it; Wag the Tagline - The Rhetoric of Brand Messaging Have you ever envied, as I have, those fortunate individuals who seemed to know from a very early age exactly what they wanted to do with their lives? And who seemed easily to avoid the series of false starts and disappointments with which most of us have to contend early in our careers.The news proclaiming the demise of the tagline has been greatly exaggerated. As a matter of fact, the tagline is alive and well – just grossly underappreciated.Admittedly, not all taglines shine. Many are vague, awkward, pretentious, complicated, and ambiguous. They communicate unintended messages, and are guilty of using trendy or meaningless business jargon. They often devalue the brand they’re supposed to strengthen and support.As tools of aggressive advertisers, taglines often exhibit the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Novice marketers tend to use them indiscriminately as mere window dressing, and Internet sophisticates sneer at them as if they were quaint holdovers from the golden age of television. Given the lack of product loyalty these days, one wonders whether consumers could care less if Bayer works wonders or Avis tries harder.In Praise of TaglinesWhether you like them or not, taglines still They had their setbacks, no doubt, but dealt with these confidently and comfortably in the knowledge that they were securely embarked on their true course in life. Most of us are not so lucky, and if we come eventually to the idea (the very sound idea) that our future lies in having our own business we face a bewildering range of possibilities, to say nothing of the untold hazards and pitfalls. So the question is: just where do you start? Richard Branson, multi-millionaire creator of the Virgin empire, is one stupendously successful entrepreneur who has no doubt. “Have fun and the money will come”, he likes to say. Easy enough for him you might think; for who needs to worry about their niche when their empire includes music, media and books; an airline; holiday and rail companies; personal finance and credit cards; cell phones and now, with Virgin Galactic, even space tourism! But Branson’s first successful operation was a student newspaper, which quickly branched out into selling records by mail order, almost an archetypal niche operation. Why did he start there? Simply because it was what he knew about, and what he loved to do. So in business as in life, it might be said that finding your niche is the key to success. And the things which you are truly passionate about are as good a place to start as any. I suggest you begin by brainstorming a list of ten such things. Start with a blank piece of paper and be totally honest. But don’t restrict yourself to the things you do now or have done in the past. Include your dreams - the things you’re certain you’d love to do if you only had the chance (and getting this business going, by the way, is far the best way to give yourself that chance). The reality check comes later. For the moment, just let your imagination run riot. Now that you’ve got your first list, put it to one side for the moment. And get ready to begin the next. What we want now is a list of the things you know most about, are good at doing, or would like to spend time researching (such as the things you dream of doing from your first list). One tip: don’t neglect your day job here. As much as you may long to escape from it, your work experience can be a rich source of skills, knowledge and expertise. And I use the word “rich” advisedly, here. Customers will often pay handsomely for this kind of “hands on” know-how. Once again, shoot for a list of ten items. You’ll find that this list overlaps substantially, but will probably not be identical with, your first one. For as much as I love to play golf, I can’t kid myself my level of expertise will ever trouble Tiger Woods. You get the idea. But cross-matching your lists you should find a number of items that feature in the top five of both. Now’s where things gets serious, because now you have to match the thing you love to do, and which you’re good at doing, with the fundamental motivations of your prospective customers. Because for an information products business, which is where I strongly suggest you start, you need to understand this key point. Information in this sense is not just a collection of facts or anecdotes about the passion which you and your potential customers share, as fascinating as they may be. Your prospects on the Net aren’t coming to you for that. They’re not passive consumers, but dynamic hunters of active information which they can put to work to help them achieve their goals. So to determine your information products business niche, you first have to understand what these goals might be. Find out what really motivates people, what drives them to action, and you’re well on the way to success. Because believe me, people will pay, and pay very well, for well presented, easy to access information that helps them succeed in the action they’ve determined on. Fortunately it’s not so very hard to work out the kind of things that motivate people. Likely they’re fairly similar to those which motivate you, because as human beings we all share certain basic drives. And an understanding of these, by the way, is at the heart of all successful marketing. So all good copywriters know that a product must appeal to one or more of the core human emotions. Interestingly, these have been found to correspond quite closely to some of the biblical “seven deadly sins” of greed, lust, pride, etc. Most obviously, perhaps, greed will translate easily in to the very human desire to get rich, to which very few of us are wholly immune. But this near universal drive contains a vast range of possible product niches, from guides to starting your own business, to stockmarket or real estate investing, to protecting your money off-shore, to owning racehorses or collecting fine art. The list is potentially endless. Likewise lust, or the basic desire to be sexually attractive, could include all kinds of health, fitness, beauty and cosmetic products, as well as clothing and fashion. Pride gives us all kinds of self-development and educational information products and these, too, are limitless in number. Space doesn’t allow here, but I’m sure you get the idea. You need to submit your proposed niche to the test of whether it falls within one of these basic and very strong drivers of human behaviour. Find that it does, and you’re ready for the next test. You now need to determine that there will be a ready market for a product within your niche by finding out how many people are currently searching the web for information on it. Fortunately this couldn’t be easier to do. Check out the free toolbar at www.alexa.com or get over to http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/. Simply enter a term related to your proposed niche and see how many times it was searched for last month. Above 5 – 6,000 is generally regarded as the minimum viable figure to look for. You might also check out the hot sellers on Amazon and eBay for more ideas. So here it is in summary: List what you love, or would love, to do List what you know, or would love to research, how to do Match the result against a core human drive or “buying emotion” Check the numbers of people actually searching for information in your niche And there you have it; e The Four Camps Of Advertising Agencies mail order, almost an archetypal niche operation. Why did he start there? Simply because it was what he knew about, and what he loved to do.Who decides what constitutes great advertising strategy? Is it the brand that pays for it, the agency that creates it, the panel that judges it, or the market that buys into it?Of course, the answer is the market, but you’d be surprised how few in the advertising industry actually create advertising for the buying public.It is paramount to understand that buyers render the most decisive judgment about what constitutes great advertising especially if the goal is to steal share. How can we steal share unless we have focused our advertising on the audience? Their dollars are the share we are trying to steal.However, it is our experience at Stealing Share™ that most advertising is aimed at everyone but the buyer. Ads are created to catch the eyes of potential awards show judges, for example, or to impress the internal audience of the brand’s employees, or to boost the agency’s self-esteem. Whe So in business as in life, it might be said that finding your niche is the key to success. And the things which you are truly passionate about are as good a place to start as any. I suggest you begin by brainstorming a list of ten such things. Start with a blank piece of paper and be totally honest. But don’t restrict yourself to the things you do now or have done in the past. Include your dreams - the things you’re certain you’d love to do if you only had the chance (and getting this business going, by the way, is far the best way to give yourself that chance). The reality check comes later. For the moment, just let your imagination run riot. Now that you’ve got your first list, put it to one side for the moment. And get ready to begin the next. What we want now is a list of the things you know most about, are good at doing, or would like to spend time researching (such as the things you dream of doing from your first list). One tip: don’t neglect your day job here. As much as you may long to escape from it, your work experience can be a rich source of skills, knowledge and expertise. And I use the word “rich” advisedly, here. Customers will often pay handsomely for this kind of “hands on” know-how. Once again, shoot for a list of ten items. You’ll find that this list overlaps substantially, but will probably not be identical with, your first one. For as much as I love to play golf, I can’t kid myself my level of expertise will ever trouble Tiger Woods. You get the idea. But cross-matching your lists you should find a number of items that feature in the top five of both. Now’s where things gets serious, because now you have to match the thing you love to do, and which you’re good at doing, with the fundamental motivations of your prospective customers. Because for an information products business, which is where I strongly suggest you start, you need to understand this key point. Information in this sense is not just a collection of facts or anecdotes about the passion which you and your potential customers share, as fascinating as they may be. Your prospects on the Net aren’t coming to you for that. They’re not passive consumers, but dynamic hunters of active information which they can put to work to help them achieve their goals. So to determine your information products business niche, you first have to understand what these goals might be. Find out what really motivates people, what drives them to action, and you’re well on the way to success. Because believe me, people will pay, and pay very well, for well presented, easy to access information that helps them succeed in the action they’ve determined on. Fortunately it’s not so very hard to work out the kind of things that motivate people. Likely they’re fairly similar to those which motivate you, because as human beings we all share certain basic drives. And an understanding of these, by the way, is at the heart of all successful marketing. So all good copywriters know that a product must appeal to one or more of the core human emotions. Interestingly, these have been found to correspond quite closely to some of the biblical “seven deadly sins” of greed, lust, pride, etc. Most obviously, perhaps, greed will translate easily in to the very human desire to get rich, to which very few of us are wholly immune. But this near universal drive contains a vast range of possible product niches, from guides to starting your own business, to stockmarket or real estate investing, to protecting your money off-shore, to owning racehorses or collecting fine art. The list is potentially endless. Likewise lust, or the basic desire to be sexually attractive, could include all kinds of health, fitness, beauty and cosmetic products, as well as clothing and fashion. Pride gives us all kinds of self-development and educational information products and these, too, are limitless in number. Space doesn’t allow here, but I’m sure you get the idea. You need to submit your proposed niche to the test of whether it falls within one of these basic and very strong drivers of human behaviour. Find that it does, and you’re ready for the next test. You now need to determine that there will be a ready market for a product within your niche by finding out how many people are currently searching the web for information on it. Fortunately this couldn’t be easier to do. Check out the free toolbar at www.alexa.com or get over to http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/. Simply enter a term related to your proposed niche and see how many times it was searched for last month. Above 5 – 6,000 is generally regarded as the minimum viable figure to look for. You might also check out the hot sellers on Amazon and eBay for more ideas. So here it is in summary: List what you love, or would love, to do List what you know, or would love to research, how to do Match the result against a core human drive or “buying emotion” Check the numbers of people actually searching for information in your niche And there you have it; Job Market Promising often pay handsomely for this kind of “hands on” know-how.As more students graduate from college than ever before, America’s job market has grown to accommodate these eager job-hunters. Employers are expected to hire about 17.4% more college graduates from the Class of 2007 than last year’s college alumni. An increasing number of re-entry students or those over the age of 25 are also trying their luck in the university system.It is not uncommon for 2007’s graduating classes to be characterized by diversity in age and walks of life. A grandmother who simply wants to learn about art history may sit next to a 20-year-old who dreams of becoming the next Picasso. While elderly college students may not have a job search on their minds, today’s career world is drastically different than even just a year ago.Did you know these job market facts?• The most popular degree for the 2006-2007 school year was accounting.• The second most popular degree this year was in bu Once again, shoot for a list of ten items. You’ll find that this list overlaps substantially, but will probably not be identical with, your first one. For as much as I love to play golf, I can’t kid myself my level of expertise will ever trouble Tiger Woods. You get the idea. But cross-matching your lists you should find a number of items that feature in the top five of both. Now’s where things gets serious, because now you have to match the thing you love to do, and which you’re good at doing, with the fundamental motivations of your prospective customers. Because for an information products business, which is where I strongly suggest you start, you need to understand this key point. Information in this sense is not just a collection of facts or anecdotes about the passion which you and your potential customers share, as fascinating as they may be. Your prospects on the Net aren’t coming to you for that. They’re not passive consumers, but dynamic hunters of active information which they can put to work to help them achieve their goals. So to determine your information products business niche, you first have to understand what these goals might be. Find out what really motivates people, what drives them to action, and you’re well on the way to success. Because believe me, people will pay, and pay very well, for well presented, easy to access information that helps them succeed in the action they’ve determined on. Fortunately it’s not so very hard to work out the kind of things that motivate people. Likely they’re fairly similar to those which motivate you, because as human beings we all share certain basic drives. And an understanding of these, by the way, is at the heart of all successful marketing. So all good copywriters know that a product must appeal to one or more of the core human emotions. Interestingly, these have been found to correspond quite closely to some of the biblical “seven deadly sins” of greed, lust, pride, etc. Most obviously, perhaps, greed will translate easily in to the very human desire to get rich, to which very few of us are wholly immune. But this near universal drive contains a vast range of possible product niches, from guides to starting your own business, to stockmarket or real estate investing, to protecting your money off-shore, to owning racehorses or collecting fine art. The list is potentially endless. Likewise lust, or the basic desire to be sexually attractive, could include all kinds of health, fitness, beauty and cosmetic products, as well as clothing and fashion. Pride gives us all kinds of self-development and educational information products and these, too, are limitless in number. Space doesn’t allow here, but I’m sure you get the idea. You need to submit your proposed niche to the test of whether it falls within one of these basic and very strong drivers of human behaviour. Find that it does, and you’re ready for the next test. You now need to determine that there will be a ready market for a product within your niche by finding out how many people are currently searching the web for information on it. Fortunately this couldn’t be easier to do. Check out the free toolbar at www.alexa.com or get over to http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/. Simply enter a term related to your proposed niche and see how many times it was searched for last month. Above 5 – 6,000 is generally regarded as the minimum viable figure to look for. You might also check out the hot sellers on Amazon and eBay for more ideas. So here it is in summary: List what you love, or would love, to do List what you know, or would love to research, how to do Match the result against a core human drive or “buying emotion” Check the numbers of people actually searching for information in your niche And there you have it; Make Life's Twists and Turns Interesting with Swivel Bar Stools u’re well on the way to success. Because believe me, people will pay, and pay very well, for well presented, easy to access information that helps them succeed in the action they’ve determined on.Imagine a life where you're not allowed to turn. You can't turn your head, or your leg. You can't turn to your left or right. You can't turn knobs to open doors. You can't make any turns in roadsides. You can't turn other things, too, to access your favorite tunes, running water, or bottled drinks. Unthinkable?Yes, life without turns is just not possible. Water and sunlight are two requisites of life. So are turns. This is why getting a swivel bar stool makes perfect sense. Not only does a swivel bar stool let you turn, it lets you turn without going anywhere.The Swivel Chair Former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson wanted three of his accomplishments to be printed on his tomb. The swivel chair was not included. It could have been, though, because Jefferson invented it. Also known as a revolving chair, today swivel chairs are typically used where personal computers are operated, most commonly in offices. The Fortunately it’s not so very hard to work out the kind of things that motivate people. Likely they’re fairly similar to those which motivate you, because as human beings we all share certain basic drives. And an understanding of these, by the way, is at the heart of all successful marketing. So all good copywriters know that a product must appeal to one or more of the core human emotions. Interestingly, these have been found to correspond quite closely to some of the biblical “seven deadly sins” of greed, lust, pride, etc. Most obviously, perhaps, greed will translate easily in to the very human desire to get rich, to which very few of us are wholly immune. But this near universal drive contains a vast range of possible product niches, from guides to starting your own business, to stockmarket or real estate investing, to protecting your money off-shore, to owning racehorses or collecting fine art. The list is potentially endless. Likewise lust, or the basic desire to be sexually attractive, could include all kinds of health, fitness, beauty and cosmetic products, as well as clothing and fashion. Pride gives us all kinds of self-development and educational information products and these, too, are limitless in number. Space doesn’t allow here, but I’m sure you get the idea. You need to submit your proposed niche to the test of whether it falls within one of these basic and very strong drivers of human behaviour. Find that it does, and you’re ready for the next test. You now need to determine that there will be a ready market for a product within your niche by finding out how many people are currently searching the web for information on it. Fortunately this couldn’t be easier to do. Check out the free toolbar at www.alexa.com or get over to http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/. Simply enter a term related to your proposed niche and see how many times it was searched for last month. Above 5 – 6,000 is generally regarded as the minimum viable figure to look for. You might also check out the hot sellers on Amazon and eBay for more ideas. So here it is in summary: List what you love, or would love, to do List what you know, or would love to research, how to do Match the result against a core human drive or “buying emotion” Check the numbers of people actually searching for information in your niche And there you have it; Difficult People: 3 Things You Must Know Pride gives us all kinds of self-development and educational information products and these, too, are limitless in number."The person who constantly angers you or frustrates you...controls you." Colleen KettenhofenDo you know any difficult people? Have you ever worked or lived with a difficult person? Are YOU a difficult person?! It's amazing how many participants in my leadership trainings will come up to me at the end of a program on, "Dealing with Difficult People," or "Dealing with Difficult Employees," and confide to me, "Colleen, I think sometimes I'm a difficult person and just realized it today!" Well, we can all be difficult people from time to time. But what do you do with the person who is chronically difficult? A key component to life balance is learning to live and work with difficult people. Because there will always be difficult people. Here are three important points you must remember.1) All behavior has a positive intention - even with difficult people.2) Low self-esteem is often the culprit. Space doesn’t allow here, but I’m sure you get the idea. You need to submit your proposed niche to the test of whether it falls within one of these basic and very strong drivers of human behaviour. Find that it does, and you’re ready for the next test. You now need to determine that there will be a ready market for a product within your niche by finding out how many people are currently searching the web for information on it. Fortunately this couldn’t be easier to do. Check out the free toolbar at www.alexa.com or get over to http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/. Simply enter a term related to your proposed niche and see how many times it was searched for last month. Above 5 – 6,000 is generally regarded as the minimum viable figure to look for. You might also check out the hot sellers on Amazon and eBay for more ideas. So here it is in summary: List what you love, or would love, to do List what you know, or would love to research, how to do Match the result against a core human drive or “buying emotion” Check the numbers of people actually searching for information in your niche And there you have it; every prospect of a highly profitable niche in which the massive and growing market place that is the Internet will ensure you access to all the eager customers you can accommodate. And of course, there is no limit to the number of different niches you can develop and explore. No limit to the lifetime of potentially galactic profits they can generate for you. There’s just one more test though; and it’s perhaps the most vital of all. Does your proposed niche excite you; I mean really excite you? I don’t mean the “uh, uh, sure that could be interesting”, type of “excitement” we all feel everyday. I mean like the shiver you felt the first time you saw your partner across a crowded room. If you’re not feeling like that about your idea, go back to step one and start again. I promise it’ll be worth the extra effort in the long run. Steve Smith December 2006
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