Chasing tail

Hi Jake,

Thanks for posting....

I dunno if this will help, but here's the way I see business opportunities nowadays.... It's good to solve a problem, especially one that's essentially unsolved for a particular market niche. Of course, it also helps to do something which you enjoy doing as your business too.

If you read Don Alm's posts (you can find many in the archives), you'll notice that often what he writes about are local unfulfilled niches. They are businesses which some people might be doing elsewhere, but not everywhere - which creates a local opportunity to be the only one (or one of the few) doing that kind of business in your area.

There are a LOT of business opportunities around. You can get a sense of that by reading this forum for a while, and also by reading The Great Ideas Letter (which I co-author with Michael Ross). All over the place, there are people exploiting new niches, solving new problems which need solving, and creating successful businesses by doing so.

I'll reveal one fascinating idea which we wrote about in The Great Ideas Letter not long ago. The idea was one being used by a pet store owner in Hong Kong - to rent pets! He rented pets out, with the option to buy. It solved a problem, because people got to "try before they buy" - they could see how the pet got along with their family, and with any other pets they had. They could see if there was a problem with the pet barking, scratching the furniture, and so on - BEFORE they had to make a commitment. He found, after offering his pet rental service, as well as extra income from renting pets, his pet sales went up 500% !

Now, I'm not saying you should go into pet rental - it's just an example of how there can be opportunities right under our noses, so to speak. The idea is not complicated, yet it solves an unsolved problem people have when buying pets. There are many ideas like this.

Anyhow, I hope that helps at least to guide you where to look. :)

Best wishes,

Dien Rice


For more great Business Ideas & Opportunities, check out the Great Ideas Letter... click here

Hi Jake, your post struck a chord with me, as I find myself in a similar position, looking for something bigger. I have come close to a million turnover, with a staff of 2.5. By the time you pay the bills, its not enough, in a product based business, unless you have exceptional markups. At the moment, I work solo from home now, kind of marking time while I bring up my son. But it is time to start building something big. I am casting around for the right levers to pull to get things happening, without forgetting to cover my back side.
I like the idea of building enterprises vertically within an industry, preferably one I understand. Unfortunately the industry I understand best does not have enough potential.

No answers, I'm afraid, but stick around.