Web Design Discussion

Some folks spend days or weeks trying to find a niche they can build their online business around. Others simply dive in right away because they think they have a good idea that will be profitable only to find out later it didn’t work. Instead of wasting a lot of time and money choosing your niche market I’ve put together 7 tips that will get you up and running quickly and avoid many headaches.

Top 7 Tips for Choosing a Niche Market

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So you’ve found a niche you’re excited about but have no idea if it will be profitable. The beauty of online marketing is that you can easily test things to see what works before investing large amounts of time and money. This is what large corporations do before they roll out a product. The same goes for advertisers. They track different ads to see which one works best before rolling out a whole advertising campaign.

If you’re a small business owner you can’t afford to invest lots of time and money into a product that won’t be profitable therefore it’s even more important for you to test it.

How to test your niche

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Think about all the services offered in your home town e.g. food, landscaping, car, accounting, post office, counseling, financial, etc. Living your life would be difficult without these services. if you want to find a service niche look for a need within your community or online.

1. Find an unmet need

The key to discovering a service niche is to offer a service that doesn’t yet exist and meets a need. For example my son wanted a job so I asked him to visit neighborhood homes to cut their lawns. Many of them were already paying high prices for a professional lawn mowing service so he could offer lower prices and still do a good job. Well, he soon found enough lawn jobs that would make him more money than if he worked at MacDonalds. He could even work less hours.

Most people search online these days instead of using the yellow pages to find services in their local area. Most of my web design customers come from the local area even though I have clients all over the world.

2. Ask questions

Instead of going with your own idea of what would work, ask people in your community what services they would like to see in their community. For example last winter my neighbor asked me if I knew of a snow shoveling service because he didn’t want to shovel 6 feet of snow off his driveway. I searched online and didn’t find anything even though I knew landscaping businesses in the area offered this service.

Obviously many offline services still don’t have an online presence.

3. Survey potential customers

You’ll have greater success if you survey 1000 people than if you just think up an idea hoping it will work. When you survey people they’ll give you ideas you never thought of. When you try to profit from an idea you thought would work, you’ll spend most of your time trying to convince people to buy it. This makes it much more difficult to be successful and often ends in failure because you get burnt out.

You’l have a much greater chance of creating a successful service niche if there is a high demand with little competition.

4. Offer your expertise

It’s easier to build a business if you already know a lot about it so think about what you are good at then search for a niche where you can offer your talents and skills. If you don’t have the skills you can always acquire them by taking classes, reading books, etc. This is how I began my web design business in the year 2000.

After you find a service niche create a plan to build and market it.

Related Articles
How to Find a Niche to Build a Profitable Online Business
How to Choose a Niche: Top 7 Mistakes
What is the Best Niche Market
How to Find Niche Products to Sell Online
How Can I Promote My Website For Free

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Sometimes I watch the QVC channel to observe the latest products being sold. As the hosts talk about the product you can watch a counter on your TV screen showing the number of people purchasing the product..often surpassing hundreds within a few minutes. My wife sometimes chimes in and says ” if you could only find or invent a product like that we’d be millionaires.”

If you were Alexander Graham Bell (who invented the telephone) you’d have a product that everybody wanted however nowadays it seems like all the products have already been created. This is not true because new products are being created all the time.

How to Find Niche Products to Sell Online

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One of the biggest problems people make when searching for a niche is to choose one that doesn’t have a lot of interest or is too narrow. You need to begin with the 3 big niches then find a niche within those three. These 3 main niches refer to the essential desires of human beings. Without having a balance of these 3 a person will not find true happiness and spend lots of time and money trying to find fulfillment in the one they’re lacking.

What is the Best Niche Market: 3 Big Niches

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If you wish to build a profitable online business you need to choose a niche your interested in plus it has to solve a problem. People are willing to pay good money to find solutions to their problems even if it’s an irrational fear or to fulfill an emotional desire.

Top 7 mistakes when choosing a niche

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One of the most profitable ways to make money online is to find a niche then build your business around it. It could be service-based (ie website design, music lessons) or product-based ( ie selling information products or hard goods). Instead of pursuing multiple niches at the same time, pick one then build it into a profitable business before moving on to the next niche.

The biggest problem

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How was 2009 for you?
Have you created a blueprint for success in 2010?

2009 was a tough year for me and my family. I earned much less than the previous year. The recession may have had something to do with it as I had less customers who wanted a website designed, redesigned, hosted or wanted SEO help. My family was shocked to discover my wife had a hyperactive thyroid. It took several weeks of radiation therapy (a $1000 pill) to get recover her health.

Instead of dwelling on the negative I first look at what I’m grateful for ie wife, kids, friends, house, food, clothing, health, etc. These are the reasons I work so hard at my web design company.

The key to making 2010 a great year is your mindset. If you keep a positive and grateful mind opportunities will come your way. Recently I was listening to Joel Osteen’s podcasts while exercising on the treadmill. The reason he built the largest church in the USA..he has a positive message for everyday living. I’m not a member of his church but find his words encouraging and uplifting (unlike
the news or naysayers).

I suggest listening to one of his podcasts called “Program your mind for victory” by clicking on the audio link at: Program your mind for victory. It will help prepare your mind for success in 2010.

Checklist of Blueprint for Success in 2010

• List the things you are grateful for
• List your main accomplishments for 2009
• List the failures of 2009, why it happened and what you did or would do to correct them
• List the main projects you wish to accomplish in 2010
• List the goals for each of these projects, the actions you’ll take to accomplish them and a timeline when they’ll be completed.

Start your “day” with a “To-Do” list.

• Create 2 columns in the list – “Profitable Tasks” and “Maintenance” Tasks
• List all the things you need to do that will build your online business, those that will increase the bottom-line.
• List all the things you need to do in order to “maintain” your current online business eg article marketing, link building, SEO, customer support, etc.

By doing all the things on this checklist you’ll get a clear idea why you need to work hard at your business and a solid plan how to achieve success in 2010.

It’s up to you to make it happen!
I wish a very prosperous New Year!

Resources
Successful Business Goal Setting for 2010
8 Steps to Creating a Simple Business Plan for 2010

Leave a comment below on the No 1 goal you wish to accomplish for 2010

How to get what you really want….whether it is your marriage partner, dream home, ideal business or good health?

This is the power of “The Secret“, a movie I watched with my family recently (it’s also a book) that shows you how to apply the law of attraction to your life.

How was The Secret discovered?

Rhonda Byrne’s discovery of The Secret began with a glimpse of the truth through a 100 year old book. She went back through centuries, tracing and uncovering a common truth that lay at the core of the most powerful philosophies, teachings and religions in the world.

What is The Secret?

Here are some of the main points I gleaned from watching the movie:

1. You are what you think

You attract whatever you are thinking or feeling. If you’re feeling good about something you’ll attract good things, if you feel negative about something you’ll attract negative emotions and thoughts.

Example
“Today I will finish this project” will attract positive energy to get the project finished.

“Today I probably won’t finish this project” will attract negative energy resulting in not getting the project completed.

2. Visualize what you want

Create a picture in your mind about what you desire. Make it as clear as possible. Write it down on paper, draw a picture or take a photo of it and keep it near your computer so you won’t forget about it. Practice visualizing what you want everyday.

3. What you don’t want attracts what you don’t want

Example
If you say to yourself “I will never get healed from this sickness” you’ll attract negative energy that won’t help you get healed.

4. Be grateful

Be grateful for even the small things, ie blade of grass, wind on your face, food you eat, family members, friends, etc. Don’t focus on what you don’t have.

5. Visualize a beautiful place to go to in your mind

When life gets rough visit that beautiful place in your mind, meditate on it. It will give you peace and tranquility and cause negative thoughts to disappear while being grateful for what you have.

6. Everything is energy

If you breakdown everything (animate and inanimate objects), you find they all consist of atoms which consist of energy. This means everything contains energy. The positive or negative energy you project influences the universe. By thinking or feeling in a positive manner you attract the positive forces of the universe to help you get what you want.

7. Apply “The Secret” to your online business

Visualize what you want to achieve with your business then create a plan to make it happen.

Example
Visualize the dream house you want to buy with your business profits. Draw or take a picture of it and place it in the location where you’ll see it everyday. This will remind you why you are working so hard.

You’ll need to set a monetary goal then create a simple business plan for how to achieve your goal.

Tip

Applying the law of attraction will help you achieve a positive mindset each day and lead you to prosperity.

Let me know your experiences or thoughts on “The Secret” by leaving a comment in the box below.

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In my last article I discussed the benefits of your kid starting an online business. This article will give you 10 ideas to get your creative juices going.

1. Help with repetitive tasks of parent’s online business

As a parent who has run a web design and marketing business for the last 8 years, I have many repetitive tasks that I would willingly have my teenage son do for a small hourly wage. I not only have an employee I trust, but save money by not hiring a professional marketer plus my child benefits by earning money for himself. Don’t worry, your kids don’t need any credentials, like earning an MBA online, give them the easier tasks.

Here are some tasks you could pass on to your child:

*Submitting articles to article directories
*Link building
*Simple updates to customers’ web sites
*Blog posting
*Writing and submitting articles

2. Blogging

If your child has a passionate interest in something why not get them to blog about it and make money from adsense ads. It could be their favorite video game, sport or hobby. Blogs are one of the easiest web sites to set-up, and search engines index them quickly.

Get your child to add content to his blog at least 3 times a week. After 30 or so blog posts add adsense ads to each post so he can begin making money from the blog. It won’t make him rich overnight however he can easily make a dollar a day and more as he adds more content on a consistent basis.

3. Affiliate programs

Large companies use affiliate programs to market their products. By becoming an affiliate you receive a commission every time you sell one of their products. Visit the clickbank market place to find an affiliate product to promote. They offer up to 75% commissions.

Research information about the product on the Internet (if you know nothing about it) then write a review page for it on your blog. Introduce the product at the end of your content and include the affiliate link.

4. Online research

Many online marketers don’t have time to research new content for their web sites. Your kid can offer their time to do research and get paid for it by the hour. I’d suggest setting up a web site that offers all the services your kid offers.

5. Online store

Creating an online store enables you to sell any number of products. There are companies that will offer their affiliates a free store to sell their products. All you have to do is market the store by driving traffic to it and you earn a commission. For example Ebay and Amazon are 2 large companies which allow you to create an affiliate store and sell their products.

6. Sell products on Ebay

I have a nephew which builds outdoor furniture from free wood he gets from an orchard owner. He then sells the furniture on ebay. When he needs more money he just makes more furniture.

You can do the same with someone elses products by offering to sell it for them. Some folks go to garage sales to purchase inexpensive items then sell it for profit on ebay.

7. Writing articles

If your kid has a good writing style they can offer their services to online firms who are often looking for good content writers. I suggest creating a small portfolio of essays they’ve written for English classes so potential clients can instantly view how good their writing skills are.

8. Create online presentations

Creating powerpoint presentations for school projects are very common these days. Businesses spend a lot of time and money putting these together. Your child can become a virtual assistant online by offering to create these.

9. Create videos

Online videos are very popular because they engage visual and auditory sense of visitors. Businesses use video blogs, video sales pages, video squeeze pages to promote their products online. It takes a bit of a learning curve to create a good video and time to submit a video to all the video sharing sites. If your kid is experienced in creating videos he/she can use the skill to make money.

10. Write a short report

Throughout your kid’s school life they always have to write essays or do a report on a project. They can use this expertise to create their own report on a subject they are passionate about then sell it online for profit. The report can only has to be 7-20 pages long. It should only contain content people can use, not a lot of fluff.

After creating the report, build a small web site containing the sales page and graphic of the report then market it on social marketing sites, blogs and forums. The key to making a profit from the report is to find places online where people interested in the topic of your report gather together. This is your target audience.

Whatever online business you choose, make sure it’s built upon your passion. If not, you will soon lose interest and fizzle out.

You never know if your kids part-time hobby will develop into a full-fledged online business.

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For more information read:
Starting a Free Online Business