A profitable niche maybe closer than you think!

Finding a niche to make money in doesn’t have to some multi-year odyssey where you bounce from one project to another. The key is to pick an area and get started.

Laurie Wallmark was a computer programmer back in 1990 but quit her job to start a catalog. And what was this previously untapped market?

Adoption…specifically books dealing with adoption.

Would you have ever thought you could create a profitable business dealing with a topic where truthfully mailing lists are more difficult to come by?

In its first full year the catalog grossed $85,000…and today it is grossing $650,000.

I ask you would you ever think a catalog selling books to such a narrow market could be doing $650,000 in sales?

And truthfully many of the catalogs dedicated to books of one subject or another are doing well or at least holding their own against the Amazon’s of the world.

How many of you would be happy with a business grossing $650,000 per year?

Oh, you might be thinking, “Sure that is a good number but she probably has tons of overhead plus lots of employees to deal with…I would just as soon do some kind of Internet-only related business where I can work at home in my (underwear, pjs, birthday suit, fill-in-the-blank).

Guess what, Laurie’s runs this catalog right out of her house…with the help of three part-time employees.

There are two morals to this story…

#1. Profitable niches are everywhere! You don’t need that middle of the night, flash of brilliance to uncover a moneymaking opportunity. They are much easier to come by.

#2. The $650,000 per year in sales is very, very respectable. I know quite a few Internet-only business owners and I can tell you $650,000 per year in sales would be more than most (if not all) of them. Now let me say Laurie is doing some business from the net also (www.tapestrybooks.com) but the strength of her business is combination of Internet order-taking plus offline marketing. To me that is the ‘magic formula’ for a successful direct marketing business, the ability to prospect off-line and to take orders on-line.

Have a terrific day!

Mike Winicki

I liked this website: It was simple and to
the point without all the flash,bells and
whistles...

Many general bookstores just don't get it!...

Thankyou

Finding a niche to make money in doesn’t
> have to some multi-year odyssey where you
> bounce from one project to another. The key
> is to pick an area and get started.

> Laurie Wallmark was a computer programmer
> back in 1990 but quit her job to start a
> catalog. And what was this previously
> untapped market?

> Adoption…specifically books dealing with
> adoption.

> Would you have ever thought you could create
> a profitable business dealing with a topic
> where truthfully mailing lists are more
> difficult to come by?

> In its first full year the catalog grossed
> $85,000…and today it is grossing $650,000.

> I ask you would you ever think a catalog
> selling books to such a narrow market could
> be doing $650,000 in sales?

> And truthfully many of the catalogs
> dedicated to books of one subject or another
> are doing well or at least holding their own
> against the Amazon’s of the world.

> How many of you would be happy with a
> business grossing $650,000 per year?

> Oh, you might be thinking, “Sure that is a
> good number but she probably has tons of
> overhead plus lots of employees to deal
> with…I would just as soon do some kind of
> Internet-only related business where I can
> work at home in my (underwear, pjs, birthday
> suit, fill-in-the-blank).

> Guess what, Laurie’s runs this catalog right
> out of her house…with the help of three
> part-time employees.

> There are two morals to this story…

> #1. Profitable niches are everywhere! You
> don’t need that middle of the night, flash
> of brilliance to uncover a moneymaking
> opportunity. They are much easier to come
> by.

> #2. The $650,000 per year in sales is very,
> very respectable. I know quite a few
> Internet-only business owners and I can tell
> you $650,000 per year in sales would be more
> than most (if not all) of them. Now let me
> say Laurie is doing some business from the
> net also (www.tapestrybooks.com) but the
> strength of her business is combination of
> Internet order-taking plus offline
> marketing. To me that is the ‘magic formula’
> for a successful direct marketing business,
> the ability to prospect off-line and to take
> orders on-line.

> Have a terrific day!

> Mike Winicki

Mike,

Thanks - that's a great example of a profitable, narrow niche....

I also think that one of the most profitable things you can do is to make a list of your customers! As you said, it can be hard to find a good list in her area.... What Laurie Wallmark must have done was create her own list, for her catalog!

I'm sure she has a "hungry" market.... For some couples, adoption is their only option to have children, and I can imagine they must be very "hungry" for more information....

And she also has books on raising adopted children too.

Clearly, she found a small niche group, and is helping to give them solutions to their problems - which is the goal of any good business!

- Dien Rice


Here's the site of the business Mike was referring to....