5 Characteristics of a Good Niche Market

If you are getting ready to launch a new business you are probably defining your niche market and the product(s) you are going to sell or services to offer. Your niche market will begin to take shape as your ideas and those of your potential clients come closer together. A good niche market will generally have five characteristics:

Conforms: a niche market should take you where you want to go with your business. It should conform to your long-term vision for growth and success.

Demand: you will know when you've identified the right product(s) or services simply by the market demand. Your potential customers should want or, even better, need, what you have to offer.

Planning: niche markets may fall into your lap or become a "brain child," however, they are also something to be carefully planned in order to meet the long-term goals and vision you have for your business.

Uniqueness: it is important that your product(s) or services are unique or uniquely different from what others businesses have to offer. Most of us would not plan to put a hamburger stand across the corner from a McDonald's or Burger King, and you should take care to make sure your product(s) and services have unique qualities as well.

Evolving: your business should be constantly evolving. You will want to develop different product(s), services, profit centers or maybe even different streams of income in order to keep your business fresh and economically strong. You can retain the core business to help you ensure your long-term success but do not be afraid to try new things as your business grows.

Take the time to plan your business carefully and to completely identify the niche market you want to target. Understand their unique needs and wants and then, using the five characteristics above, evaluate how your business and its short- and long-term plans "stack up." By using these simple principles you will be able to ensure that your business gets off to a great start.

Copyright 2005, M. A. Webb. All Rights Reserved

PUBLISHING RIGHTS:
You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your e-book or on your website, free of charge, as long as the author's information and web link are included at the bottom of the article and the article is not changed, modified or altered in any way. The web link should be active when the article is reprinted on a web site or in an email. The author would appreciate an email indicating you wish to post this article to a website, and the link to where it is posted.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Michele has 20+ years experience in oncology healthcare. She is also the webmaster of more than five different e-business websites. You can learn more about cutting-edge learning tools and opportunities by visiting her personal, online training, or free classified advertising sites.

Setting eBusiness Goals

by Michele Webb

Setting goals is a fundamental part of choosing and launching any business. If your business does not meet your personal goals, you probably will not be happy dealing with the operational aspects of the business which are less glamorous then the long-term goal of becoming financially independent. When setting your goals, here are just a few things to keep in mind:

1. Be Specific. Goals are more easily achieved when they are specific. For example: "raising capital" is less specific than "raising $20,000 by September 1st."
2. 
   Optimism. Be optimistic when you set your goals. Write your goals in a positive manner so that you're energy and ability to stick to the tasks needed to achieve the goal remain fresh and interesting.
3. 
   Realism. Be careful to not set goals that are unrealistic. This is particularly important for those who are just starting out. For example, if you currently only make around $50,000 annually, you may not want to set a first year goal of making $500,000. Start small and then when you reach your goal, incrementally increase it until you reach your ultimate dream.
4. 
   Think both short- and long-term. Short-term goals are those that you can reach in about two weeks time. Long-term goals would be those you strive for in five, ten or even twenty years. Long-term goals should be substantially greater than your short-term goals, but both should be realistic.
5. 
   Income. It's no secret that most entrepreneurs go into business in order to achieve financial security. You will need to know how much money youw ant to make during the first year's operation and then for each year thereafter, for up to five years at a time, to set realistic goals.
6. 
   Lifestyle. Analyze your lifestyle, habits, patterns and needs of your family. You will need to understand what you can invest in areas such as: work, personal assets, geographic location, travel, hows you are willing to work, and what you are willing to risk.

Starting any business will be challenging and fun. But, you have a much greater chance of being successful if you set business goals that are tailored to your needs and both short- and long-term expectations.

Copyright 2005, M. A. Webb. All Rights Reserved


PUBLISHING RIGHTS:
You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your e-book or on your website, free of charge, as long as the author's information and web link are included at the bottom of the article and the article is not changed, modified or altered in any way. The web link should be active when the article is reprinted on a web site or in an email. The author would appreciate an email indicating you wish to post this article to a website, and the link to where it is posted.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michele has 20+ years experience in oncology healthcare, including Cancer Registry management. You can learn more about cutting-edge learning tools and opportunities by visiting her Cancer Registry and online training site.

Adding Color to Your Website

When you're designing your new website, don't go crazy with adding a lot of different colors. This is one of the biggest mistakes new netpreneurs make. Instead, stick with one or two colors for type fonts and use a simple basic color for the page background. (white, off-white and pale yellow are good choices).

How do you know you have used good color in your design? The best way to know is to test out your website on an old, or very cheap, screen or monitor. Don't assume that all surfers will have 25-inch, flat screen or plasma screen monitors. If your website does not look good on this lesser monitor, then it could be bad page design or the wrong color choices. Always test before publishing your pages permanently!

Copyright M. A. Webb, 2004-2005. All Rights Reserved.

About the Author: Michele has multiple websites and has both designed and purchased website templates. She likes sharing with others her experiences and lessons learned. You can visit her site today to learn more.

Press Releases Increase Search Engine Visibility

If you have not already starting creating and distributing press releases, you may want to consider doing so. Press Releases can increase your visibility on the Internet. Some Press Releases distributed by newswire organizations are indexed by the leading search engines and your Press Release could remain indexed for as long as six months.

As a result, people searching the Internet for related information will find your press release in their search results for months after the release is issued. The enormous amount of traffic these sites bring in can give your press release the potential audience of millions!

There are many templates and "how-to" documents on the Internet and free press release distribution services. Here are just a couple of other tips to help you get noticed and increase your e-business traffice and sales:

1. Use keywords related to your product, brand and company information

2. Keep track of the services used to distribute your release

3. Monitor the search engines that index your press release

4. Monitor the "hits" and searchers who visit your website from reviewing the press release. You may want to consider adding a Web Poll to your website to track this statistic.

Copyright M. A. Webb, 2004-2005. All Rights Reserved.

About the Author: Michele has successfully owned and operated her own independent businesses including multiple websites. Visit her website today to find ebooks and other materials regarding eCommerce, business techniques and more.