Clear business

You know, I always knew that I wanted to be a business man ever since I read Victor Kiam's Going For It (for those who didn't know Victor, he was the man who liked the Remington shaver so much, he bought the company!). The trouble was, I really had no idea what business to start or develop...

Mind you, that was back in the day when computers had 4mb of RAM and the Internet was still a military secret. It was a lot harder to get information on industries that you were interested in and trade was a lot more restrictive as companies depended on dealers to showcase and promote their products and services.

There was no Internet marketing because there was no Internet, so you either learnt a trade or got a job, picked up as many contacts as you could and then went out on your own trying to grab as many of your old customers as you could.

These days, there are so many opportunities that you can spend months researching each one and still not be sure where to start.

So you may believe that all the marketing you see on the Internet is new, never been done and cutting edge - take the latest raft of programs all offering an automated, fully duplicable business in a box which is a totally new concept isn't it?

Uh... no!

What's franchising if it's not a business in a box, and franchising has been around since the 1950's.

Franchising works best for the same reason that the new online businesses in a box work, and that reason is...

They fill a need that no-one else has already claimed!

In other words, identify an area that is crying out for help, whether that be information or the actual provision of a product or a service, and then make it yours. This is your niche - your specialist subject if you will.

This is important because if you don't find a niche on the Internet, you're potentially wasting $thousands on marketing to people who may not want your product or service and believe me, on the Internet, every marketing dollar counts!

For example, you could sell information on the Internet, or even produce a product, sell it online and use the money you would have spent on warehousing and retail to promote your goods via the Internet.

OK, you're going to tell me that there are millions of other people already doing that...Yes I know, but have you seen their websites and their marketing. Because there is a minimal amount of competition as you're in a niche market, anything you do to make your visitor's experience better will shoot you way ahead. That might just be a simple and neat Contact Form that you actually reply to!

Now, it's all-well-and-good filling a need, but what if you don't like the niche you've found? Find another - pure and simple. What's the point of throwing in your old job that you hated to have the hassle of building your own business in an industry that you don't like.

Having said that, the flip side is trying to build a business around a hobby or subject that you really enjoy and then finding that you can't involve yourself in that hobby anymore as you do it all day now - try to strike a balance.

Here's a summary of how to define your niche and try to build a successful Internet business...

1 - Identify your likes and dislikes

2 - Is there a need for anything that you enjoy (e.g. pet
grooming, cosmetics, fitness etc...)

3 - Can you make money by exploiting this need?

4 - Go for it!

Good luck in all your decisions and have fun with your home business, which ever one you choose, and don`t forget to enjoy your new found freedom!

Michael Hemmins is the owner of
http://www.NewHomeBasedBusinessIdeas.com/ a free resource
and information website offering news & ideas to help
people like you start and grow their own home based
businesses. Click this link to claim 3 proven ebooks and
one Internet marketing course worth over $700 FREE -
http://www.NewHomeBasedBusinessIdeas.com/free-stuff

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Why Discovering Your Niche Can be the Most Important Element of Your Internet Marketing Success