AUDIO: Seven secrets to succeeding in a business niche

LAKE PLACID, N.Y.
October 10, 2007 12:01am

Just finding a niche for your business will not guarantee success, says Susan Friedmann, author of a new book on developing niche businesses.

You still have to “own” the niche in part by becoming the expert on your niche rather than a generalist.

Ms. Friedmann’s book, "Riches In Niches: How to Make It BIG in a Small Market," details seven steps for niche success.

Much of the book is developed from her own 18 years running a niche business -- helping companies get the most out of attending tradeshows and industry events, she says.

She began her business after being laid off “not once, not twice but three times” from her jobs in public relations.

“After the third time, I said enough is enough. I’m going to take my destiny into my own hands,” she says in recounting her start as an entrepreneur.

(Ms. Friedmann talks about the seven steps and her own career in today’s CVBT Audio Interview. Please click on the link below to listen or to downloads the MP3 audio file.)

“The goal of the whole book is to be the expert,” Ms. Friedmann says. “One thing that I tell people is that when you’re looking at a niche market, your focus should always be on how can I be the expert, the go-to person that people will come to for whatever kind of information, service, [or] product that you’re selling.”