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Everything you sell must have a strong value proposition but you do not have to please everyone. This becomes even easier when you do not aim for the bottom of the market. Ultimately, when y8u shoot for the top that means you are competing with fewer players and the rewards are greater. Your will get paid more, even if you do not own all of the market. It is a smart bet. This will also mean you will have fewer customers and be getting paid more for the few customers can be getting paid more for the few customers you do have which will lead to less work and more money per customer. No downside there.
This approach allows you to focus specifically on your nest customers then later if you want you can produce a different product for the masses. Elon Mush did this with Tesla. He stared with higher end niche product then went down market to increase his share. It is a smart way to grow, make the most mount of cash up front then over time offer more affordable products to other segments of the market. If you can, start with the most specific, highest value product you can think of, then gradually begin expanding over time with more commodity offerings as you try to appeal to larger groups of people. A friend of mine sells boast anchors. The opportunities to do this are limitless. First focus on the most niche product you can imagine that has the greatest value proposition.
You can, of course, begin with a wide approach to the market. Just know that’s an uphill nettle and will be taxing on your human resource and cash. That is what I thought. Niche down for the win.
How then do you research niche audiences that never sound obvious until you hear them? I mean, who would have thought to sell leatherworking supplies or wedding handkerchiefs? You do not know until you try. This is where online search tools can be helpful. Whether you realized it or not, there is a universe of resources available to help you start your business the smart way. You do not have to fly blind like we did and just troubleshoot things. You know where to look.
One example is the tool Jungle Scout which scarps every single Amazon listing and tells you approximately how much revenue each listing makes. You can query this database and search for example all products that generate at least three hundreds sales per month and make at least $10,000 a month. By taking a look at what sells, you can quickly find a niche for yourself. Oftentimes, when dong this, people will find products they never would have thought of in a million years. Do not make the mistake of trying to take a bunch of shots in the dark in hopes of hitting big on something. You do not need to do that. Your search for the ideal niche can be informed and sophisticated. You may still need to take little risk at some pint but it will be an informed risk.
All I am saying that there is a lot of data available to you if you know where to look and what to look for. Another tool to use is a website called ahefs.com, which allows you to see what people are searching for on Google and how to optimize your website for those searches. Other platforms have similar resources. There is tool called Terapeak, which allows you to figure out what all the listings for certain kind of product on eBay are selling for. That way, you know how to set prices so that you are not underselling or charging more than the market can bear. The point is that regardless of what you are selling or where, you can find a way to optimize your products and services for what people want. Our goal as entrepreneurs is not so much to find an audience for our product but rather a product for an audience. That is what niching done is, it is looking for a large enough group of people who have clearly felt need for a certain product or service. Go where he demand is and do not be surprised if it is not where you think.
When it comes to finding the right niche, there is delicate balance between selling what people ant and finding a product nobody else is selling. On one end of the spectrum, you need to sell something that has sufficient demand. If it is too innovative or brand new, people would not know what to do with it. You do not need to reinvest the wheel to start a business, you just need to make it better.
