So, you have decided you want to be an entrepreneur. Have you found your niche calling? If so, how do you plan to go about planning details? Tips about establishing a business can be found here. If, on the other hand, if you haven’t found your niche, read on.
You want to start a business, but the thing that’s holding you back is your niche market, or the absence thereof. Here is the thing—brainstorming niche market ideas can be tricky sometimes. It can even get overwhelming. So, its extremely important not to pressurize yourself.
Write it down
Take a deep breath. You got this. While trying to find a niche market for your business, write down all your niche market ideas on a notepad. Talk to a close friend or a trusted mentor. Put your ideas out there and feel it. It can be something you are really passionate about, or it can be something you believe is the upcoming trend of the business world.
Identify your interests and passions. Make a list of your interest and passion areas and see what interest you the most.
Research
The next step is to research the viability of your ideas diligently. Once you have your niche market ideas in place, figure out if there is a market for your niche. Having a passion for a particular niche isn’t enough, you also want to make sure there is a need for it—find out if there is really is a problem to which you can provide a solution. Else, odds are your venture could become one expensive hobby.
One way to start figuring out the market is with some basic research and survey. Ask the right questions. Identify problems you can solve. Find problems your target customers are experiencing, then see whether you can actually fix them. Have one-on-one conversations with your target market. Note down your findings and make a flowchart. Or simply, write everything down so that you can process it later. Uncover pain points by asking the right questions.
Do thorough online research as well. Peruse online forums such as Quora, Reddit, and Facebook forums. Take a look at the discussions taking place. What questions are people asking? What problems do they want to be solved?
Research keywords. It also makes sense to do basic keyword research. Search for different keyword combinations on Google. Use tools such as Google Trends and Google AdWords’ keyword planner. This can help you uncover popular search terms related to your niche market.
Research your competition
Once you have done your research into niche market ideas, it is time to narrow it down and start researching the competition. One thing to remember—the presence of competition in your chosen niche isn’t necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, it can be an indicator showing that you have found a profitable niche. But you need to do a thorough analysis of competing businesses.
One way to analyze your competition is to create a spreadsheet and log all of the competing businesses you can find. See if there is an opportunity to stand out in the crowd. Is there a way to differentiate yourself? Do you have something unique to offer? What will you do that is different from the competition? Dig deep.
Determine the viability of your niche
By now, you should have a good idea of what niche market you want to get yourself into. At this point, it’s time to think about the financial aspect of your business. How are you going to fund it? What will your business structure be like? Is it viable? Is the business idea profitable? Draw up five-year plans, forecasting expenses and profit/loss sheets along with a business plan. This should give you a pretty good idea of what you can expect.
Once you’ve confirmed the viability of a niche, it is time to narrow down to the financials and start developing a full-fledged website. It is time to choose a location (if it is a physical business), open a checking account, and figure out the licenses and permits. It is also important to hire a stellar team to look after various aspects of your business—like having an online presence, driving traffic, and boosting sales.
In the end, remember that there isn’t necessarily a perfect process for finding a niche. Do your homework and don’t skip any steps. Start somewhere. Start now.
Here’s a resource that will help you on your product discovery.
Guest Post by: Ourbusinessladder.com
Ourbusinessladder.com is a 360-degree Entrepreneur Support Business Consultant Company. We are one of the top Management Consulting Firms in India specializing in market research and business advisory. We offer Business Consulting Services and are a one-stop solution for existing businesses and enterprising entrepreneurs.
