Being the number one in the world for everything is really hard work. Pele couldn’t be the best footballer, boxer and golfer – he picked a sport and became the best in the world in it.
Finding your niche in the world can take some time. Most athletes find the “thing” they can be the “number one” in the world in their teenage years – if not earlier. For the rest of us figuring out our niche may take us a little more experimenting. It takes some time and a few careers to figure out the thing that you have a passion for and can stick out for a few years/decades.
Namita Ramani figured out a few years ago the niche she would like to dominate is the marketing of spas. It’s a lot harder task to be the best marketer in the world. But picking the niche of being the best marketer in the niche of spas – can make you a lot more focussed and successful. You learn the industry inside out. You get to know all the industry terms. You make all the industry connections.
In the interview below she talks about how she got into the marketing of spas. If you are looking for your place in the world – start by listing out what you enjoy doing. Forget the money aspect for a while. Think about products/services/industries that you love. Then figure out a way to dominate in those industries. Namita not only picked the spa market. But she picked mid to high end spas. Focussed in Dubai. Over time as she “becomes the best in the world” in that niche she can expand. But in the mean time if you are a high end spa looking for marketing help based in Dubai – would you go to a Saachi & Saachi who are all things to all people – or would you go to Spagenie who exactly understand your industry and market?
Chris Andersen popularized the concept of the long tail – the fact that the world is now becoming more and more niched. In the past only the top 100 CDs or books sold well as that is the only thing that was available to purchase at the bookstores and record stores. Now with the internet a lot more choice is possible so the “long tail” of products outsell the “head”. In the world of consulting and services more and more small companies and individuals will come to dominate rather than the larger players in the world.
As an entrepreneur I also had to find my niche. Being the number one entrepreneur in the world is really hard work (Richard Branson and Steve Jobs have taken that niche). Being the number one webpreneur becomes a little easier. Being the number one webpreneur focussed in the Middle East becomes easier still – as I can understand the specific issues (taking payments/ cultural etc) in my local niche better than a webpreneur based in California. I found my niche by figuring out what I enjoyed doing (helping small businesses as well as creating ideas) as well as what I was good at (computing was the subject at school/university that for whatever reason I got straight A’s in).
You too can find the best niche for yourself in your marketplace. The new economy is becoming so dispersed that making a living doing what you love is becoming easier than at any point in history.
Here is the interview with Namita in which she talks about how she found her niche as well as tips for entrepreneurs.
In case you can’t see the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-PELtSlEr0
You can connect to Namita Ramani at Spagenie.ae.
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