How did you come up with your business idea?

specialyear · #1 6th January 2009, 15:09

Hi all,

I've been lurking for a while and am amazed to see lots of people with its own niche. How did you all come up with it?

For the past 3 months, I've been reading books, ebooks, blogs and forums and etc... Everyone is talking a niche... and the best one should be around one's hobby/interest. I still haven't found one

I've taken a serious interest in affiliate marketing and, in the end, got stuck on choosing a niche.

My background is in accounting. By the time I successfully finished the exam ACCA (to be a certified accountant), I realised accounting wasn't for me any more although I used to work as financial controller for about 5 years.

Whilst reading around affiliate marketing, I tried 'buy and sell' on ebay. Started selling my own stuff, then been to car boots to buy and sell on ebay, then bought 'wholesale job lot' from ebay to resell on ebay. Although I enjoyed its process, I soon realised there wouldn't be any money to be made in this way. On the other hand, my high volume/low margin sales earned me over 100 feedback within the very short space of time -100% positive feedback. Quite a few buyers commented that I was the best seller they have ever dealt with! Although money wasn't made, I am very happy with the result.
I have a great customer care attitude and would love to make people happy with my product or/and service.

My hobby would be reading biography / self help books. I've always wanted to have my own business.

I had one big dream but it is exactly just that for now as I don't have any money even to try it.

And it requires lots of money, well over £500,000.00.

So I am looking for something else to get into quickly and grow steadily with initial investment of a few thousand pounds. ebay seems a great place to start but again I got stuck on a niche - what to sell? / how to find it? I've spent loads of time browsing on ebay.

I would love to sell authentic designer brand as I love them myself and believe there is always enough demand for it - of course, I may be wrong on this. Even then, it seems not everyone can get their hands on designer wholesale.

Once I find a product, I know I will give my 110% to make a successful business. But to my dismay, I am again back to square one after 3 months reading and trial and error.....

Anyone can share their expertise picking on their niche or direct me to more relevant materials to read around? Any advice is much appreciated!!

Thank you!

Lee

Steve2507 · #2 6th January 2009, 16:49

My first (and still main) business was by accident.

I used to be a bank manager and had a breakdown (nearly killed me). I retrained into IT programming and decided to build a website to showcase my skills. Thought I would build a lingerie site as I could get the products easily and it sort of snowballed from there. We started at the right time so we could add extra items as customers requested them and as competition was very low we didn't need to do much research.

The second business (www.glutafree.co.uk) was started from personal experience. I'm a ceoliac and so it is something I know a hell of a lot about.

The next business (due for launch later this year) is based on my experience in another field and is another hole in the market I think I have found. I only think at the moment as I'm still doing my research.

I think you are trying to force the issue of going into business yourself and you could be trying too hard to find that perfect product. Browsing on Ebay won't do you much good (imo), instead get out of the house and visit trade fairs, the Spring Fair at the NEC is the next decent one which has a good mix in it.

My way of thinking is to just go for something you fancy. As long as you can make enough to live on then it will give you valuable experience. As you work on the main venture other opportunities will naturally appear.

Also don't worry too much about margins at this stage. Our Glutafree site has a much lower profit margin than the adult site (seriously lower) but we have a much higher conversion rate and are already seeing faster repeat business. So even though a product or product area you fancy has a lower margin you should think about repeat business and conversions.

Sorry for rambling, but in essence I think you have got the right attitude but you are doing too much research.

tony84 · #3 6th January 2009, 21:14

i have had websites in any and every field you can think of - Music, Sports, Health, Finance, Entertainment, Clothing etc etc.

Every time i thought of something i could do, i always tried to think of something that would make it unique. For instance i had a fitness site, if people registered (for free) they had access to tools which would check BMI etc and save the information so they could view their stats of the last 3 months (It helps with motivation).
I had a gaming site where i offered free forum hosting to "clans".
And so on.

Looking at your post you have a lot of things that you are thinking:
Biographies/self help
ebay
clothing
Finance
plus whatever else.

In all honesty ebay finance and clothing are hard "niches" to break into. Maybe cut it down further - what type of finance?
A way i tend to look for ideas is look at websites for sale, see if it is well priced and if there is anything i think i can do that will improve the value - bring those changes in nd leave it 3 months, see if income has gone up and if not sell with those changes which have hopefully added value, this will then finance another project.

This probably ist the best way as im not rich yet, but it certainly adds an extra chunk to my bank balance twice a year.

movietub · #4 6th January 2009, 22:47

This is a difficult subject.

To use myself as an example I find it almost impossible not to get excited about business in general. I cannot even go out for a drink in a bar without looking round and figuring out what could be done better. I'm not exagerating when I say my business thoughts keep me awake at night!

And more than that everyday life inspires me to do new things. As a result I have setup many small projects. Some of which have grown, others I dropped, others almost destroyed me.

You asked how people come up with ideas - well I think its by being the way I describe above. A blessing and a curse (I really cannot sleep some nights).

You mentioned an interest in self help/reading/biographies. The self help bit is a niche enough area surely? You could start a niche online bookshop combined with a forum dedicated to the subject and peoples experiences. You could review the books yourself. Writing a solid review will increase sales and also great SEO for the site overall. Having the forum creates fantastic cross pollenation between the forum community and the online sales.

Of course this is just a suggestion for you to develop further. But even as first stab the above solution would involve you reading the books you like, talking on and managing a forum discussing said books, ultimatlely making money too. As you are passionate you will eventually outperform most others in your niche as you will naturally strive to take it further.

And the fact you qualified as an accountant then turned your back is great news. I can't live without my accountant but like most accountants/bank managers I have spoken to their passion for numbers, Black & White and security of decision makes them totally unsuitable for the diverse and imaginitve world of business. So I'm glad it wasn't for you

stewartsetter · #5 6th January 2009, 23:24

I used to work of a large Pharmaceutical company managing the day to day. The bosses then decided to move the HQ to Jersey, any guesses why?.

As such, I then re-setup the UK Finance department to run as a back office for Jersey, partly because only a MD was there and he could just about lift a pen let alone run day to day. We then used to cross charge the Jersey office a set fee for the overheads etc for work done on their behalf.

This is when I thought that I could offer back office to other companies. Since launch in November 2006, I have picked up quite a few niche businesses that could not yet survive if they had admin staff to pay for.

I am a sucker for day to day business, business administration is my "morning coffee", it's the only thing that gets me out of bed.

I also agree with movietub above. This also keeps me awake at night.

Steve2507 · #6 7th January 2009, 08:23

I think the above could be classed as spam?

Humphrey · #7 7th January 2009, 08:44

Hi Lee

After many years of chasing my fortune on the internet I decided to take a close look at what was actually earning me money. Amazingly it was providing free information.

I looked at the types of people who were visiting my web sites.

The biggest group of people browsing the web have absolutely no intention of spending money. However, they are tempted into looking at interesting web sites. So one of my first significant sources of income was Google Adsense. A small but significant income.

The next group of people on the web are going to purchase something but are determined to get the best price. My 'niche' area is personal development, health and well-being, so my first need was to ensure I get found. This is tough when going up against the big organisations with big budgets but not impossible. My web site sleepwise.co.uk is most successful. Once the potential customer has found one of my web sites I try and supply a solution rather than simply sell my services. Of course I am looking for a sale and my services and products are tied into the solution, plus I am involved in many affiliate programs which also provide a small but significant income.

The next group of potential customers are those looking to change their lives. This is the most profitable group as far as my on-line sales are concerned but do require me to be more creative and diverse in the information I provide. There are many people looking for ways to earn a living from the internet. I try an provide some practical solutions, most of which earn me a small commission and generate a regular income. The best of these is my enterprisemall.com web site, which amazingly is a free on-line business but generates income from shared team commission. Many people access this web site via other 'free information' sites such as my 5050vision.co.uk web site that targets the over 50s.

My solution to earning a living from the internet has been diversification and a somewhat eclectic approach that can be difficult to maintain. Not the perfect solution but it works for me.

Humphrey

specialyear · #8 7th January 2009, 12:09

Thank you all!

It certainly helps me think outside my comfort zone!

Thank you Steve. I've been told to get out of the house a lot recently

Trade fairs is a great idea. I've googled it and sent a few registration emails. I was hung up for designer brand stuff for a while (and searching for its source with not much success) so didn't really look for 'new products' but now I think there may be something I fancy so I will give it a go.

Yes, Tony. I find ebay is a tough place to begin with. Valuable experience though. I often wonder how power sellers make money at all. I think it's down to their 'exclusive' wholesale source which is hard to find. Funnily enough, I can only get excited about my own finance

Other than that, it's all a headache. Having said that, I do like help people budgeting and planning. It's not more than common sense though so I can't see any way that I can stretch this to a forum level. I googled website for sales and thought it's interesting. Especially those with on line shops which is linked with the source of drop shipping. My negative thinking is that, if anyone is trying to sell it when it sounds like a real good proposition, there's gotta be a catch. Am I being too negative? What you are achieving seems to require a fair bit of technical skills in IT. What's the maximum you pay for the type of website you work on improving? Just to get some idea of an acceptable price level...

Movietub, there was a time I thought self help book was a great niche. Then my subsequent research put me right off. Simply oversaturated. Then again, so many things I looked up over the past 3 months seem so. This leaves me thinking, 'I will never start anything'. Like Steve said, I've been spending rather too much time on research. But then again, I didn't want to start anything I knew it's overly crowded and would bring nothing but a waste of time and effort in the end. I guess it's another 'trial and error' time I should take. I will give it a go. Your suggestion is actually what I am passionate about at least. Moreover, I can actually see myself outperforming some in that area!

It's great, Stewart. You quickly spotted your niche, dived in and built it around your strengths. What mostly keeps me awake at night is 'What can I offer?' 'How can I connect people's needs to a product/service?' 'What are their needs?' 'How can I find their needs?' 'Everything seems out there already. With what and how can I stand out?' 3 months of these questions day and night to dead end...

Humphrey, how do you manage all those websites?! They all look really nice and informative. Thanks for the detailed sharing. I think I get the picture of 'where to start?' thanks to your 'many years' chasing and the result!

I now will get out, meet people and source some products. I entirely relied on internet until now, the information of which is often overwhelming and not entirely fruitful. Then again, some people found its product and source that way!

I know I have second to none customer care skills/customer satisfaction oriented attitude/integrity. Hope I can find a right product soon to open an on line shop and work around my strengths.

While I am looking for a product and its source, I will work on self help related blog too. Others' participation will certainly boost my moral along the way!

Thank you again. Will let you know my progress. In the meantime, any more advice is very much appreciated!!

movietub · #9 7th January 2009, 16:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by specialyear

Movietub, there was a time I thought self help book was a great niche. Then my subsequent research put me right off. Simply oversaturated. Then again, so many things I looked up over the past 3 months seem so. This leaves me thinking, 'I will never start anything'. Like Steve said, I've been spending rather too much time on research. But then again, I didn't want to start anything I knew it's overly crowded and would bring nothing but a waste of time and effort in the end. I guess it's another 'trial and error' time I should take. I will give it a go. Your suggestion is actually what I am passionate about at least. Moreover, I can actually see myself outperforming some in that area!

Never underestimate passion as a route to success. Even if the market place is saturated with people peddling the same things there is no reason you cannot outperform the majority. Finding really niche products is all well and good but guess what? You then have to track down niche customers!

I was imagining that most people searching for a self help book would be a little confused at the sheer number covering each subject. For those people at least a site containing solid reviews of each book along with side by side comparisons of similar books on the same subject AND a forum stimulated by your own enthusiasm and knowledge to allow people to share opinions of the books could add upto to one hell of a community.

Think of channeling your passion and enthusiasm to build an online community of a few thousand people, around 5% logging on each due to the forum. In effect getting to that stage can cost very little and provides prime online 'real estate' for the sale of books. I sell fishkeeping gear and get around 750 unique visitors a day and I'm not even that passionate about fishkeeping anymore!

As always online - give people a quality useful service for free then offer something to buy as an option.

PM me if you need any advice on forums/eccomerce packages and so on.

cheers

specialyear · #10 8th January 2009, 16:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by movietub

Never underestimate passion as a route to success. Even if the market place is saturated with people peddling the same things there is no reason you cannot outperform the majority. Finding really niche products is all well and good but guess what? You then have to track down niche customers!

I was imagining that most people searching for a self help book would be a little confused at the sheer number covering each subject. For those people at least a site containing solid reviews of each book along with side by side comparisons of similar books on the same subject AND a forum stimulated by your own enthusiasm and knowledge to allow people to share opinions of the books could add upto to one hell of a community.

Think of channeling your passion and enthusiasm to build an online community of a few thousand people, around 5% logging on each due to the forum. In effect getting to that stage can cost very little and provides prime online 'real estate' for the sale of books. I sell fishkeeping gear and get around 750 unique visitors a day and I'm not even that passionate about fishkeeping anymore!

As always online - give people a quality useful service for free then offer something to buy as an option.

PM me if you need any advice on forums/eccomerce packages and so on.

cheers

Thank you! That's very encouraging!! Will drop you a line