Searching for a niche? Look outside the box! By The IMC Team | Posted December 15th, 2007
(Or, How Santa Claus made him $100,000)
Recently we conducted a survey in which we asked the question, "Where do you most need help with your Internet business?"
And the #1 answer — earning 40% of the votes — was, "Finding my niche."
It’s not surprising, actually — finding a profitable niche is the first thing you need to do as you build your business, and definitely the most important "make-or-break" step you’ll ever take in your online business career.
So obviously, we tend to get lots of questions from readers asking us what they should sell online.
Here’s the answer we always give them:
You have to start by exploring your own skills and experiences to come up with possible product ideas.
For example, if you’re a trucker, you might want to research the possibility of creating a private members-only site that tells truckers where to get the best cheap and delicious meals in 24-hour diners across North America.
Or if you’re a contractor, you might research the possibility of selling an eBook that gives advice on how to hire a contractor who’s guaranteed to do a good job — on time — without overcharging you!
But all too often, people say that no matter how they try, they simply can’t come up with any good ideas.
"I don’t have any unique skills or experiences to build on!" they complain.
To that, we say: cow paddies! 
Everyone has some unique skill or experience that can lead to a successful business. It just takes some digging — and some imagination — to find it.
I’ll be honest: the first idea you think of probably isn’t going to be the one that leads to your successful business. (Because if it was that easy for you to think of, chances are someone else has already done it.)
You have to dig deep and explore extremely targeted possibilities. No, you won’t be able to build a business selling golf clubs online. That’s way too crowded a niche. But you might be able to build a successful business selling used left-handed putters for women. (Only careful research will tell you for sure.)
The point is, you’ve got to think outside the box.
Today we’re going to introduce you to a perfect example of someone who used his imagination and his life experience to come up with a great business idea.
(And we’ll throw in some good ol’ "holiday cheer" while we’re at it!)
We first met Mark Bulleit when we interviewed him for our online magazine, Secrets to their Success.
Mark was a computer programmer who wanted to start his own online business. He had lots of computer savvy, but zero marketing knowledge. And so his first few attempts at starting a business never really took off.
"Like many other aspiring entrepreneurs, I figured that if I had a good idea and took it online, interested visitors would flock to my site to buy what I had to offer, and I’d instantly be able to enjoy the kind of lifestyle that most people only dream of," Mark says. "I didn’t realize that wasn’t the way online businesses really worked."
Finally, after several failed attempts, a lightbulb went off in Mark’s head, and he realized a great business idea had been staring him right in the face — whenever he stepped outside the front door of his house!
Mark, you see, lives in a small town called Santa Claus, Indiana. From its street names — such as Christmas Boulevard and Rudolph Lane — to the decor of every building, the town celebrates the holiday spirit all year long.
Because of the town’s unique name, most letters that children send to Santa Claus every Christmas end up at the town’s local post office. In fact, the town gets letters from children all over the world!
And that’s what gave Mark his great idea…
… He decided to build a site that allows people to send personalized letters to their loved ones — from "Santa Claus" himself!
Customers use his site’s interactive online letter builder to select a stationery design and letter style, then supply specific information about the letter’s intended recipient in order to personalize the letter’s message.
Then the letter gets printed up and stamped with the town’s official "Santa Claus" postmark, and is sent to the lucky recipient.
Best of all, the letter-creation process is entirely automated. And because Mark outsourced the envelope stuffing and delivery part of the business, he only has to spend a couple hours a day on his business, during the "busy season" of fall and early winter.
And get this: when we interviewed Mark, he told us his site — lettersfromsanta.com — generated $100,000 in just seven weeks!
Talk about ringing in the New Year right!
Mark’s story is inspiring because he didn’t let a few setbacks destroy his dreams of a successful online business. Instead, he learned from his mistakes and never gave up. Then, when he did come up with a great business idea, he was able to turn it into a fabulously successful business.
Mark cautions other aspiring entrepreneurs not to give up on their dreams if their first attempt at an online business doesn’t work out.
"You can’t allow yourself to give up to soon," he says. "Anything worthwhile doesn’t come easily."
Of course, you can avoid the possibility of failure by modeling the success of entrepreneurs like Mark.
By learning the secrets of their success, you can discover how to make their winning strategies work for you — while making sure you don’t make the same mistakes THEY made during the course of growing their business.
That’s why we started up our online magazine, Secrets to their Success. We figured the best way for our subscribers to discover the "behind-locked-doors" secrets of successful entrepreneurs was to get them straight from the source.
Every month, we interview two successful entrepreneurs who are making at least $100,000 with their online business and get them to "’fess up" about all the strategies they’ve used to grow their business.
Plus, we also feature an in-depth site review in which our team of writers and designers tear apart a subscriber’s site and rebuild it from the ground up, showing them what they need to do with their site in order to attract more targeted visitors and dramatically increase their conversion rates.
(As a subscriber, you can submit your site every month into our site review contest — and if you win, you get $5000 worth of in-depth advice, plus salescopy and design work for free!)
To subscribe to this info-rich magazine and discover how you can make the secrets of successful online entrepreneurs work for your business, please visit:
www.secretstotheirsuccess.com.
And in the meantime, as you work on finding your niche, keep on thinking outside that box!
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