Do You Have a Product or Web Site Idea Already?

This 20 minute task is for you only if you already have an idea for a web site or for a product that you want to sell online. If you haven't got a product or idea, then skip this for now and invest your 20 minutes in the next task.

If you already have a product or idea then you need to go through your passions and your characteristics and see which of them fits best with it. The reason is this: there is no product on earth, except maybe water and air, that everyone needs or wants. Even if there were, you'd have to own a warehouse full of dollars, euros or yen to market and distribute it. It's more practical and more profitable to target the product at a specific group. When you do, you get these advantages:

• Your advertising budget can be smaller because the group you're targeting is smaller.
• You can position or "spin" the product so that it has added value to your target niche. That way, you don't have to sell for rock-bottom price.
• You can focus on the people who need the product most and who are therefore likely to pay for it fastest.
• You'll be more interesting to the media. It's easier to make up a story about your product when the story concerns a specific group of people. It's also easier to get your story published because you can go to the specialized media that target your market niche.
• You can often take a product intended for one niche and spin it for another niche where you have little or no competition.

Let's take an example of the last point above. We know a man whose friend is passionate about bicycle racing. Through his job he discovered a nutrition drink positioned by its manufacturer for the elderly. He started selling it to other bicycle racing enthusiasts and is now making a nice income because he convinced them that it's perfect for regenerating tired muscles during a long ride.

Your 20 Minute Task

Your task for this 20 minutes is to mix up your idea or product with each of your passions and characteristics to list as many groups as you can think of who would benefit from it. Your goal is to find one or more good market segments for your product or idea. Write them on a list and file it in your Market Niche folder.

Here's an example. Suppose your product is toothpaste and your passion is bicycling. You could position your toothpaste as a way to get the bugs out of your teeth after a ride. Just kidding, but you get the idea.

Now, for the the rest of your 20 minutes, combine your passions with your product or web site idea to see what you come up with. Do it even if you think you've already found the perfect niche. You may come up with some additional profitable market segments.