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Why Should Entrepreneurs Serve A Niche Market?

January 24, 2020 No Comments

Niche businesses are not resistant to competition, particularly from bigger market players with generous assets and economies of scale
When the speciality market has been saturated, open doors for development can emerge out of various sources
There are a few specialities showcases under each industry

By looking at the number of successful CEOs and all the under-30s, 40s, or 50s business leaders, it is safe to say starting with a niche market is a successful startup plan. You may ask why?

Business owners who focus on an immediate connection between the size of a target market and the likelihood of winning people’s trust often miss what a niche market can offer. Marketing niche ideas or creating disruptive business not just give new companies a chance to flourish the business effectively, however, can likewise assist them with developing into significant players in an international market. Sound and profitable organizations all have tapped disruptive ideas and made it big in the past.

Finding a speciality is significant for entrepreneurs who need to make a constant flow of income and build a loyal customer base. A strong market speciality guarantees that a specific gathering of customers will need to purchase from your business, rather than heading off to the competition brand.

There are a few specialities showcases under each industry. If an entrepreneur thinks about a quite certain item that serves one of their extraordinary needs, it can most likely belong to a niche speciality business. In the past, there have been several examples of such ideas in internet, automobile, telecom, and fashion industry to relate to.

What Does A Niche Market Give In Return?

Effectively Open Clients

For a business specialty to be beneficial, your potential clients should likewise be open, and getting to them must not be difficult. When tapping an industry with a disruptive idea, if clients are open to try new ways, the idea can easily flourish.

An Underserved Or Ignored Market

For areas where there are already too many players, the market becomes oversaturated, which means the businesses stop growing and the competition makes it difficult for all to survive. However, for a niche market, the business owners are targeting an underserved, neglected section of people. Doing this can be beneficial.

Market Competition

Niche businesses are not resistant to competition, particularly from bigger market players with generous assets and economies of scale. So even with markets performing better for other players, in what capacity would it be a good idea for you to behave? Fruitful niche organizations will react with advancement and better items, as opposed to cost-cutting measures like their competition.

Development Opportunities

When the speciality market has been saturated, open doors for development can emerge out of various sources. One of them is to expand worldwide.

Many in the profession often believe a niche market is a valley of large and small-scale players where the bigger you are, the better. However, many forget that the small-scale niche startups survive the competition to become huge and successful because they learn to endure through the competition. So take a gander at such companies in your industry and what they’re advertising. You may see a disruptive innovation it shall hit.

Most importantly regardless of certain troubles such as securing investments and managing growth patterns – numerous business visionaries who are centred around niche markets look at it to be staggeringly gainful and satisfying. The keys to progress are to keep in contact with your clients, comprehend their needs and keep a laser-sharp spotlight on serving those requirements with a pledge to constant development. Disruptive innovation can be amazing by the way it changes your business, however, you ought to be prepared to advance regardless.

By Jatin Ahuja

Founder & Managing Director at Big Boy Toyz Limited

Sourced from Inc42

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Women Entrepreneurs Can Create Better and Successful Brands

July 17, 2019 No Comments

By Moonmoon Bhagchandka

The word ‘entrepreneur’ is derived from the French word ‘entreprenerd’ which means ‘to undertake. Anyone who undertakes the responsibility of running a business venture, giving it time, value and money are regarded as a successful entrepreneur. Being an entrepreneur is an attempt to create value through recognition of business opportunity. It is a milestone defining the opportunity for who so ever chooses this path- be it a male or female. Entrepreneurship clearly defies the laws of gender and has got much more to do with how and where one utilizes the opportunity instead of a gender-based label.

However, there has been the emergence of many studies and researches that were done specifically to find out the ultimate results on “who rules the business better” among men and women. As per the research conducted by Centre of Entrepreneurs- “Women entrepreneurs are more likely to work towards controlled, profitable growth with relatively little interest in merely positioning themselves for the lucrative exit.”

And What The Data Says?

Women have the edge in terms of taking calculated risks if the research done by Centre of Entrepreneurship is to be believed which says 87 per cent of women see themselves as financial risk takers as compared to 73 per cent of men. Another finding by the same research institute says that 47 per cent of women are keen to start a new business within the next three years as compared to only 18 per cent of men. One major reason for these attributes can be that women had to break many barriers, shatter many pre-conceived notions before acquiring this position which they hold currently in the business world. This is why women tend to take home a lot of study and homework as compared to men.

It is a fact that more than 75 per cent of business is male-dominated worldwide but when it comes to more effective leadership, women dominate this chart as per a data analysis was done by Fitsmallbusiness.com. The data analysis says that women have a larger appetite for growth and when all statistics are compared, women actually outperform their male counterparts.

Creation of Jobs

Another solid measure to analyse the success of a business is the rate of job creation. Female-owned firms are way ahead in terms of creating jobs and stimulating the economy when compared to male-owned firms. A longitudinal study conducted by Dow Jones Venture Source found that the firms having three to four female executives have a higher success rate compared to those having one or two female executives.

Not just by comparing various studies, if we go by the basic nature also, women have been multitasking all through their lives for the kind of society we live in. They have been managing the households and basic domestic chores without the blink of an eye, and ever since women took over the business world, they started excelling in that front too. This, in general, makes women more well-organized and delegated. Women are also blessed with a brilliant sense of nurturing relationships, higher emotional quotient, and a dash of empathy. So, the business relationships are built on understanding, trust, and compassion which are truly long lasting, one of the keys for business success.

The Bottom Line

Labelling women as better entrepreneurs in terms of creating better brands might be proven through certain researches and statistics however the word entrepreneur cannot be labelled with the gender tag. These statistics show a bright picture of female entrepreneurs and definitely bring out the true facts but the most governing factor in terms of being a successful an entrepreneur is not your gender alone, but how you grab the opportunity and make the most of it. Anyone who possesses the skillsets of initiating an idea with wider knowledge, and a willingness to take risks with adaptability and an optimistic outlook will make a successful entrepreneur, whatever the gender may be because, in the end, a better leader would be the one who not only ensures his/her own growth but also of the team and the brand. Women are doing a great job though!

Feature Image Credit: Shutterstock

By Moonmoon Bhagchandka

Sourced from Entrepreneur India

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This Is What Separates Those Who Dream of Becoming Entrepreneurs From Those Who Actually Take the Leap, According to MIT Research

March 20, 2019 No Comments

By Jessica Stillman

If you want move beyond just dreaming, you need this one thing (and no, it’s not money).

Maybe it’s opening a bakery, writing a book, selling crafts on Etsy, or building a billion dollar software startup. But whatever forms it takes, survey after survey (not to mention anecdotal evidence) suggests that a majority of us dream of becoming entrepreneurs.

So what sets those who actually take the plunge from those who only dream? What pushes a keen hobbyist or excellent amateur into actually becoming a business owner? A recent study of more than 400,000 people out of MIT came to decisive answer, and it’s not the one you’re probably expecting.

Finances? Personality? Nope, the secret is friends.

The study was born when MIT PhD candidate Hyejun Kim stumbled on an unexpected data source: Ravelry.com, a popular hobby site that bills itself as “Facebook for knitting.”

From the perspective of the knitters who use the site, Ravelry offers an opportunity to share patterns and advice with fellow enthusiasts. For Kim, it was a goldmine of data on the path people take from hobbyist to entrepreneur. By crunching through data on more than 400,000 knitters and reviewing 99 interviews with users, Kim aimed to find out why some remained weekend warriors while others went on to start knitting-related businesses.

You might think the most important factor might be personality, or perhaps finances were the big secret and either desperate straights or a cushioning bank balance helped people make the transition. Both hypotheses make sense, but both turned out to be wrong.

What was the biggest factor in who went from hobbyist to professional? In short, supportive friends. When asked what helped them make the leap in interviews, knitters most commonly mentioned having loved ones who supported and encouraged their entrepreneurial ambitions. The data confirmed these comments.

“Kim’s analysis of data on 403,168 individual knitters from 2007 to 2014 backs this up. People who joined a so-called ‘stitch n’ bitch’ group to craft socially were 25 percent more likely than otherwise identical knitters to take the plunge into entrepreneurship. This is true even when correcting for geography, experience, skill level and productivity,” reports the Washington Post.

Why were real world social connections so important? Further analysis showed that it wasn’t that they helped knitters build technical skills. Those who moved on to become entrepreneurs often had ninja-level skills to start with. Instead, these personal ties seem to provide a big confidence boost, which helps turn dreams into reality.

Your social network is your secret weapon.

Of course this study only looks at knitters, but as the WaPo article notes other experts in entrepreneurship are heaping praise on Kim’s work, suggesting it’s not just of interest to crafty types. In fact, other research in the field of network science shows that a large and supportive social network is one of the greatest predictors of career success of any kind.

For friends and family of those dreaming of starting a business, the message is clear: don’t underestimate your impact as chief cheerleader. You can make all the difference in whether the people you love pursue their big, scary dreams.

Meanwhile, those secretly longing to ditch their job in favor of setting up on their own, shouldn’t just worry about a solid business plan and bank balance. Practicalities matter, but social support is equally essential. Lifting yourself up into a new life will require the help of a lot of strong arms, Make sure you surround yourself with people willing to boost and support you.

Feature Image Credit: Getty Images

By Jessica Stillman

Sourced from Inc.

In News

10 tips for entrepreneurs

February 27, 2019 No Comments

By ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business

“Entrepreneur” has caught on as a buzzword and an idealized career, it actually takes an awful lot of work. Some entrepreneurs are lifers, seemingly born with a silver patent in their mouth. For others, arriving at entrepreneurship is an accident, or at least is inadvertent.

Aaron Pool, owner of Gadzooks Enchiladas and Soups in Phoenix, could be considered one of the lifers. “Growing up, I found myself wanting to make the decision or create things with a certain quality. Some places may say, ‘That’s wrong, you need to do it this way,'” Pool says.

1. Find someone (or something) that will have your back

“You learn that you shouldn’t feel ashamed of having big, unique ideas as long as you have the support system, like W. P. Carey was for me,” Pool says. Four years after graduating from the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU, Pool opened his first Gadzooks location. He now has a second.

“It’s not about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about pulling the best people together and helping them become successful in their own right. So, while I’m very proud to be the captain of the ship, does my name personally account for our success? I hope not. If that’s the case, I haven’t created a sustainable team.” – Christopher Myers, (B.S. finance ’06), founder, BodeTree LLC

2. Cut some things from your life

You’re not superhuman, no matter how much kombucha you drink. If you’re trying to launch a product or business, odds are it’s a side hustle. Odds also are that you can’t manage a career, a passion project, family commitments, and a bunch of other obligations. So identify your priorities accordingly.

3. Make sure your business model is solid

One of the biggest mistakes many entrepreneurs make is living in the “what if” of their product or business. Just because you dreamed it up doesn’t make it won’t live in reality. Make sure you have an airtight case for what you’re trying to do.

“When you can, with confidence and certainty, look at your financial picture and say, ‘OK, this is where we’ll be and this is what we have to do: we have to sell X, we have to deliver X, and then we have to collect, and this is when that’ll happen,’ it takes a lot of the fear out of it,” says Lea Parks, a 2015 W. P. Carey graduate who earned degrees in supply chain management and entrepreneurship.

“It takes a lot of the risk out of it. You actually have a plan.”

4. Ask for help

“Do your research and ask good questions of experts you trust. Some things might feel like good ideas, but the more you dig, the more you find out they’re not,” says Tim Haitaian, who was an audit associate at KPMG before co-founding Redshelf, which delivers and distributes e-books, e–textbooks, and other digital learning materials to publishers, institutions, and campus bookstores. He helped launch Redshelf in 2011, and today it serves more than 500 college campuses in the U.S. But Haitaian never could have reached his goals without a sounding board.

5. Develop routines

It’s easy to get caught up in the creation and ideation that play such a big part in entrepreneurship. But believe it or not, you’re probably better off thinking about your process and the product lifestyle than you are standing at a whiteboard waiting for the inspiration to strike. By giving yourself parameters, you allow creativity to flow in the natural course of things, and when it’s required, not just when you want to feel inspired.

6. Learn how to say no

“Don’t say no to all opportunities,” cautions Haitaian. “Say no to the ones that take you away from your primary goal.”

7. You can pay your bills and fund the company for at least six months

This seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how many aspiring entrepreneurs don’t think this far ahead. The reality is, no matter how good your idea is, you will almost certainly start with some lean times. From turning on the lights to a new space to paying contractors to not having more money coming in, if you can’t float yourself for a while, not only will your venture suffer, you might, too. Don’t sacrifice the basic needs of existence to create the next widget.

8. It’s a team effort

Entrepreneurs have a reputation for going it alone, but lasting success with any endeavor can only happen with the right team. “It’s not about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about pulling the best people together and helping them become successful in their own right,” says Myers, founder of BodeTree. “So, while I’m very proud to be the captain of the ship, does my name personally account for our success? I hope not. If that’s the case, I haven’t created a sustainable team.”

9. Learn to sell well

This one seems obvious, but if you can’t make the product, the pitch, your company, or yourself seem worth the investment, it won’t be.

10. Get over yourself

There was only one Steve Jobs. That doesn’t work for everybody. “Egos get in the way,” says Haitaian. “You’ll gain more respect, you’ll get further, by sacrificing your ego for the right decision than for trying to hold on to some essence of ‘I want to be the one with the right answer.'”

Feature Image: Entrepreneurs have a reputation for going it alone, but lasting success with any endeavor can only happen with the right team. Hoxton/Tom Merton

By ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business

Sourced from Phoenix Business Journal

In News

When it Comes to Profile Pictures, let a Stranger do the Choosing

May 22, 2017 No Comments

Are you self-employed and trying to promote yourself or your products? Then it might be better if you don’t choose the image yourself!

When trying to pick the most flattering pictures for online profiles, it may be best to let a stranger do the choosing, a study published in the open access journal Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications suggests.

In the first study to investigate the process by which people choose their profile pictures, a team led by researchers at UNSW Sydney, Australia found that images selected by strangers convey more favourable first impressions than images people select for themselves. The findings appear to contradict previous research which showed that people tend to portray themselves more favourably than others.

Dr David White, lead author of the study said: “Our findings suggest that people make poor choices when selecting flattering images of themselves for online profile pictures, which affects other people’s perception of them. This effect is likely to have a substantial impact on online interactions, the impressions people form and the decisions they base on them, including whether to employ, date, befriend or even vote for someone.

“Previous work has shown that people make inferences about an individual’s character and personality within a split second of seeing a photograph of their face, so our results have clear practical implications; if you want to put your best face forward, it makes sense to ask someone else to choose your picture.”

To find out whether selecting one’s own profile picture might have a positive or negative effect on first impressions, the researchers asked 102 students to select two out of 12 photos of their own face that they were most or least likely to use as a profile picture in three online network contexts: social networks, dating sites and professional networks.

Participants were then asked to do the same for 12 images of a randomly selected stranger who had participated in the study previously. The researchers found that people tended to select images that highlighted positive personality traits in line with the context of the website that the image was for.

Dr White continued, “Our results demonstrate that people know how to select profile pictures that fit specific networking contexts and make positive impressions on strangers: dating images appear more attractive, and professional images appear more competent.”

However, when the researchers showed these images to unfamiliar viewers (i.e. strangers) they had recruited via the internet and asked them to rate how attractive, trustworthy, dominant, confident or competent the person in them appeared, they found that the images people had selected for themselves made a less favourable impression than images selected by others.

Dr White added, “Future research needs to investigate the mechanisms that underlie the choices people make when selecting profile pictures to find out why people seem to have a limited ability to select the most flattering images of themselves.”

In News

10 Success lessons from Howard Schultz – “Starbucks CEO and Billionaire” for entrepreneurs

January 23, 2017 No Comments

By Biplab Ghosh.

Howard Schultz is the CEO of Starbucks the largest coffeehouse in the world with more than 23,000 locations. Schultz’s is one of the richest men in America with a net worth of over $3 billion. He become Fortune Magazine’s 2011 Businessperson of the Year.

Schultz was the owner of the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics from 2001 to 2006, which he purchased for $200 million. He was a member of the Board of Directors at Square. In 2012, Forbes magazine ranked Schultz as the 354th richest person in the United States.

1. Have a mission

Starbucks has one simple mission: To inspire and nurture the human spirit–one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.

That mission statement has served the company for more than four decades, because Starbucks is more than just a coffeehouse. It’s become an escape for anyone needing a break from the daily grind. It’s become a centralized meeting location for friends to catch up and business people to have meetings.

Starbucks wanted to provide people–no matter their age, profession, or location–with a unique experience: the coffeehouse as a place to relax, work, and socialize.

2. Inspire and challenge

Back in 2007 Starbucks was in trouble. As chairman, Howard Schultz noted then that the company had lost its way. “The pursuit of profit became our reason for being, and that’s not the reason that Starbucks is in business. We’re in the business of exceeding the expectations of our customers.”

So what did Schultz do? He took 10,000 managers to New Orleans for a four-day conference to help inspire and challenge employees. The result? All 10,000 left the conference on “a tidal wave of energy.” By 2013, Starbucks was reporting record profits.

3. Stay closer to core business

“Our history is based on extending the brand to categories within the guardrails of Starbucks. [We won’t] abuse the trust people have by going off and doing things not consistent with the heritage of coffee.”

When Howard Schultz returned to the CEO job he found Starbucks selling teddy bears to increase same store sales. He quickly put an end to that offering. Starbucks does try new things, but tries not to stray too far from the core business.

4. Focus on people

Howard Schultz’s clearly believes that the focus on people is the primary reason for the success of Starbucks. Howard Schultz is also very focused on developing and maintaining a strong company culture and improving teamwork. Company culture, teamwork and people are important for every company.

Starbucks offers stock options and health insurance to both full and part-time employees. What is arguably most interesting about Starbucks is that they have built a moat in a services business that might be viewed by some people as a natural commodity.

5. Take your business personally

Starbucks is not in business for Howard Schultz. He says that the company will evolve and survive long after him, because it’s built for that. He adds, “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon… I love this company so much. My emotional state in relation to the company is beyond normalcy. It’s a fanatical feeling.”

6. Choose the right partners

Over the years Starbucks has entered a number of partnerships to help expand its business. For example, the company partnered with Barnes & Noble in 1993 to serve its products at the bookstores nationwide. What goes better with a book than a cup of good coffee?

A more recent partnership has been forged with Apple. Since 2006 Starbucks and Apple have worked together to provide customers with a “coffeehouse experience.” This partnership allowed people to purchase songs on iTunes that they heard in Starbucks. The company also works with a number of organizations that help serve and advance communities. These include the American Red Cross, Global Green USA, and Save the Children.

7. Don’t be afraid to take risks

What Schultz had in mind was more than a $4 cup of coffee. He envisioned Starbucks as “the third place” that people spend their time between home and work. Schultz’s goal is a “customer experience,” not just a good cup of java. That idea is so well-rooted in our culture today that it seems as if it were always a foregone conclusion.

Schultz’s vision could have stopped there, but it didn’t. As he told an audience at UCLA in September 2008, his goal from the start was to build a “different kind of company” – one with a “social conscience” and a “soul.”

8. Admit failure, takes accountability and keep learning

Schultz is quick to own up to his own missteps, and a much publicized near disaster. When Schultz resigned as CEO (but stayed on as chairman), Starbucks grew so rapidly that it lost the signature “neighborhood feeling” that had made it so successful.

Schultz came back as CEO in 2008 and realized he had to take drastic action. He scaled back, closing 900 stores. And he took action to regain the “neighborhood feel,”

9. Everything matters

Sweat the small stuff. Pay attention to every detail. Why? Because everything matters.

When accountants informed the company that it could save money by switching from two-ply to one-ply toilet paper, the idea was rejected. Starbucks felt that having one-ply toilet paper wouldn’t jibe with the brand’s image as “affordable luxury” and make a $4 cup of coffee hard to justify.

10. Be consistent

Consistency is one of the best ways to create loyal customers. If you deliver top-notch customer service and quality products or services, people will always expect that from your company. Starbucks has done an excellent job of offering customers consistent products and services. If you walk into a Starbucks to order a mocha latte, you can expect exactly the same product in New York City as in Seattle.

By Biplab Ghosh

Sourced from KNOWSTARTUP