Comments on: Horrible or Awesome #5 - Your Market http://www.clubosc.com/horrible-or-awesome-5-your-market.html Showcasing osCommerce - the good, the bad and the ugly! Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:04:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: Gary http://www.clubosc.com/horrible-or-awesome-5-your-market.html#comment-337 Gary Sat, 22 Mar 2008 22:56:09 +0000 http://www.clubosc.com/horrible-or-awesome-5-your-market.html#comment-337 Thanks Guys - interesting viewpoints :) Thanks Guys - interesting viewpoints :)

]]> By: Mike K-H http://www.clubosc.com/horrible-or-awesome-5-your-market.html#comment-336 Mike K-H Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:40:15 +0000 http://www.clubosc.com/horrible-or-awesome-5-your-market.html#comment-336 They say that the commonest cause of failure for small businesses is a cash flow problem, i.e. not enough capital to cover the gap between paying and getting paid. However, trying to sell something that nobody wants must be another. If you get both of those right, you still have to tell people you exist, and tell them why you are likely to be different from all the other businesses selling the same thing. Of course, you may be so clever that you are the first person to think of supplying a pent-up demand. In that case you still need to be sure you can make a profit doing so, and you need to convince people that you are doing a grand job satisfying their need. If you stock a warehouse with a better mousetrap, people will not automatically flock to your door. Even if they hear about it, they've been had before. They're skeptical. They say that the commonest cause of failure for small businesses is a cash flow problem, i.e. not enough capital to cover the gap between paying and getting paid. However, trying to sell something that nobody wants must be another. If you get both of those right, you still have to tell people you exist, and tell them why you are likely to be different from all the other businesses selling the same thing.

Of course, you may be so clever that you are the first person to think of supplying a pent-up demand. In that case you still need to be sure you can make a profit doing so, and you need to convince people that you are doing a grand job satisfying their need. If you stock a warehouse with a better mousetrap, people will not automatically flock to your door. Even if they hear about it, they've been had before. They're skeptical.

]]> By: Kay McMahon http://www.clubosc.com/horrible-or-awesome-5-your-market.html#comment-335 Kay McMahon Sat, 22 Mar 2008 15:52:58 +0000 http://www.clubosc.com/horrible-or-awesome-5-your-market.html#comment-335 We've recently been watching Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on the telly. You might wonder what on earth that has to do with your posting about USPs and research. Quite a lot, I think. So many people try to "live the dream" but they don't put enough research into it first. So, you want to invest your life savings in a big hotel with four restaurants. Have you ever run a hotel before? Have you ever run a restaurant before? A small bed and breakfast even? The answer is invariably "no". And then the people wonder why they're failing. By all means be ambitious. Try new things! But don't go into it blindfolded with no clue about what you're trying to do. Do your research. Find out who your customers are. Find out what they want! Find your USP. Differentiate your product in some way. Don't forget to check out the competition. Unless you're as lucky as a pools winner, success is unlikely to fall into your lap. You have to work for it. We've recently been watching Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on the telly. You might wonder what on earth that has to do with your posting about USPs and research. Quite a lot, I think. So many people try to "live the dream" but they don't put enough research into it first.

So, you want to invest your life savings in a big hotel with four restaurants. Have you ever run a hotel before? Have you ever run a restaurant before? A small bed and breakfast even?

The answer is invariably "no". And then the people wonder why they're failing.

By all means be ambitious. Try new things! But don't go into it blindfolded with no clue about what you're trying to do.

Do your research. Find out who your customers are. Find out what they want! Find your USP. Differentiate your product in some way. Don't forget to check out the competition. Unless you're as lucky as a pools winner, success is unlikely to fall into your lap. You have to work for it.

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