“Wherever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” Peter Drucker

What do you have planned in your business for 2008? I’ve got some brand new things launching – a new partnership with a local healing center, a new live workshop, a new program, a new business structure – talk about starting the New Year out with a bang!

I have to admit, when my coach suggested a new business structure, I was a little nervous – ok – I was downright scared!

Whenever we decide to do something new, it’s going to bring changes for us. With my new structure, I was worrying that clients might feel alienated, I was worried about how it would change the structure of my day, I was worried about how it would rock my business world – I felt a little like I was jumping off a cliff into a great big unknown.

I like Peter Drucker’s quote above because it renews in me the sense of adventure that I have as an entrepreneur. When I read it, I realized that successful businesses are full of courageous decisions. As entrepreneurs, we make them every day. A business of your own truly tests your courage.

What new things are you implementing in 2008? Where would you like to see your business by this time next year? What decisions are you making that feel a little scary? How will your business change because of these decisions?

Now, I’m not saying there isn’t anyone else out there doing what you do. I’m saying that there is no such thing as competition in the sense that a competitor can drive you out of business.

Sometimes, we have a vision of marketing that we need to be standing on a street corner with a bull horn shouting about your business to anyone that will listen.

Really, what we need to do is come at it from the other direction. Choosing a specific niche of people to market your products to, is going to give you a smaller group of people to be in front of, allowing you to forget the bull horn. And, I know this seems counter-intuitive - shrinking the people you reach in your business… especially when all you want is income flow and clients and customers seeking you out.

But - choosing this specific group of people is going to help you really reach them and connect with them - rather than yelling through a bull horn and hoping someone will listen.  And, your niche isn’t “small.” A good niche, has at least 10,000 people in it - not too shabby!

So, instead of trying to cast a really large net over a really large group of people and hope you reach someone, you’re actually going to be starting in the center of a smaller group of people that WILL be interested in what you’re offering. You can really get to know members of your niche - make connections - build relationships - and meet their needs.

Yes - there are always going to be other people doing what you do. But, as solo business owners, we can’t possibly serve everyone that needs what we offer. I mean, if I was the only business coach on the planet, I’d be out of my mind crazy busy - and probably not providing very good service to the millions of people that seek business coaching every year.

But - I’ve focused my niche - solo-preneurs who own spiritually conscious businesses - I stay sane, I’m building relationships and I truly serve my clients. And, I’m not the only one that does what I do. My very own coach targets this niche as well. And, I know several other business coaches who target this niche. They are lovely people and I enjoy hanging out with them - and sometimes referring business to them.

We all speak to our niches differently - and actually - we all focus on slightly different aspects of business. Your authentic voice and the way you work with your clients and customers is going to help you hone in on what you do as your business evolves.

What thoughts do you have on competition? What has been your experience with others in your same business? Do you feel anxious about narrowing your niche?

“There is no such thing as failure, only results, with some more successful than others” – Jeff Keller (Author, Attitude is Everything).

This quote couldn’t be more true – especially in marketing. Marketing efforts are all truly just big experiments. Some of them turn out exactly as planned, and some of them go in a direction you hadn’t expected or thought of.

This is one reason I love business – it’s results oriented. You try something, it works – fantastic! If you try something and it doesn’t work – you know pretty quickly that you need to tweak it.

Let’s put this in the context of a marketing message. Let’s say you’re launching something new in your business. You put together a marketing message and no one responds. Oy! We all hate that!

But, when that happens, instead of thinking people just aren’t interested, take a look at your marketing message. Could you have made the headline more connective? Did you ask your niche for input on the program, or the marketing message? Does your message leave any unanswered questions?

A really great thing to do when creating your marketing messages is ask a trusted group of friends for feedback. Specifically, ask them: Does this message speak to your challenges around (the area the product or service addresses)? And, do you have any questions about the offer?

See what responses you get back and then tweak your message. Produce it again and see if the results change.

This week, I invite you to strike the word “failure” from your vocabulary. If you try something that doesn’t work out – it’s ok – you can always tweak it and try something different!

Is there something in your marketing efforts that isn’t working? If so, who can you ask for feedback? Why not ask here, at the blog? There are many amazing entrepreneurs that read this blog and would be happy to assist you!

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about making a connection with your marketing efforts. And, I’ve had a few people contact me and want to know more about where, exactly, they should be looking for people in their niche - where do these people hang out, and how do you find them and connect with them?

There are a multitude of places to find potential clients that you can connect with. It really depends on what your business provides, and the particular niche you’re serving.

In that previous post, I mentioned looking at online networking groups. Yahoo Groups is a great place to start. Let’s say you’re a massage therapist serving the dance community. You might search Yahoo Groups for dance related groups. You can also do the same at MSN Groups or Google Groups. These groups are a great way to meet, make connections, and build relationships with your potential clients. Because it’s online, you can network when you want, where you want. I’ve made amazing connections through groups like this, and as a result, I’ve been able to connect with clients across the world.

My friend Katherine is exploring Facebook as well and is seeing how it can benefit her business. Go check out her blog and see how she ends up liking it! I have to say, I think she’s going to find huge benefit out there. Facebook is my new favorite networking tool. I’ve been able to make some great connections out there for my business - my niche is definitely hanging out on Facebook. And, the connections I’ve made have not only been online connections - I’ve actually met people local to me as well!

Another great social networking site is Zaadz. It’s social networking for the socially conscious. Please feel free to connect with me in either place

Something else that I do in my business to connect with my niche is, I write articles and they are published in targeted places. What I mean by targeted is, places where I know my niche will read them. For example, I am a writer for a magazine called The Saponifier. It’s a publication geared toward the handmade toiletries industry. I’ve also written for Planet Lightworker, Peaceful Living News, and Wisdom Magazine.

The key to finding people to connect with who are your potential clients is to have a focused niche, or target market. And I know, there are entrepreneurs that resist narrowing their focus. But, when you hone in on who you want to serve, it makes connecting with them, and really building a fulfilling business easier. Instead of casting a wide net and hoping someone will notice you, you can be more targeted about your marketing efforts, be more deliberate about your marketing actions, and really connect with the people you want to serve.