Grow Your Business the Natural Way

Did you know that many of the internet references to the word, "niche" deal with the biological and physical sciences? Nature has been niche building for years!
Take the example of the humming bird. Over the years, its beak has been modified to pollinate certain flowers. The cardinal flower has a long tube which has adapted to the humming bird's long beak. This flower went so far as to make itself a color not appealing to bees. The humming bird and the cardinal flower have discovered a niche where they can survive the crowded world of birds and flowers.
Or what of the tiny bird that eat insects off the skin of the giant hippopotamus? The bird picks bugs from the hippo's skin and is provided with food. The hippo is rid of pesky bugs. Nature has again provided a wonderful survival niche.
In last month's issue of The Small Business Tool Box, I addressed the topic of small business niche building. I believe niche building is the fastest and only way to take your business to the next level.
In this month's issue, we will continue exploring how small businesses face the same survival issues found in the natural order of things. What is nature teaching us about small business niche building?

What is Small Business Niche Building?
Niche building in a small business starts by narrowing your focus. By creating a narrower business focus, you actually increase the number of customers rather than decrease the number of customers.
Within this narrower business focus, you become an expert. You develop or obtain the expertise for this narrow business focus. You become recognized as the authority in your area.
When you have created the narrow focus and developed expertise to match your focus, you begin to attract customers–instead of chasing them. Do you think the heart surgeons of the world are out chasing clients?
When your niche has been developed, you find you are no longer competing on price.

Niche Hunting!
Many assume you must go outside of your current business to find your business niche. In fact, you can buy online programs that help you find a niche. They will show you 50 or 100 of the hottest niche areas to pursue outside your business.
Going outside your business is not necessary. There are ways that you can look at your current business operations and find niches that are already present.
Every aspect of your current business, your customers, your products and services, your operations, your strengths and weaknesses, your personal preferences, each one of these areas may be a potential niche for your business in the future.
Niche building is not always going outside your business to find something new. Your current business may contain the seeds of very profitable niches. You need to begin seeing your business from a new perspective! Here's an example.

Gift Shop discovers new revenue
A hospital gift shop discovered a new source of revenue. Instead of treating customer phone orders (phone calls coming into the gift shop to order flowers for patients in the hospital) as an accommodation service, they used these phone orders as a sales opportunity.
They offered the caller a broad variety of gifts rather than the traditional vase of flowers. Customers were delighted with the personalized options; patients were happy with the gifts they received and the gift shop doubled their average phone purchase.
By looking at their current operations from a different perspective, they were able to create a profitable niche for one part of their business.
What potential niches lie waiting in your business?
If you want to learn more about the niche building process, you will want to read my free report, "The Power of Niche Building for Your Small Business". Just click "reply" to this email or send me an email at Al@hanzal.com and on the subject line, put "Free Niche Building Report".
I will send you the free report.
Next month, we will explore deeper into the niche building model.

Copyright Al Hanzal, 2004 All Rights Reserved

Hanzal Enterprises, Inc.
4191 Granite Court
Eagan, Minnesota 55123
651-495-3340

For other powerful small business tools that you can use easily, quickly and affordably to improve your small business profits, click How To Make Profits in Touch Economic Times on my website



About the Author
Al Hanzal has been working in small businesses for 14 years. He helps small business owners make more profits by helping them build a business niche.