[FretDancer]

I just finished my website design for an online business I'm trying to set up. I begin to check if the domain I have in mind is available, and not that suprisingly, it is not.

Not only that, the site name is exactly the name I wanted for my business.

I begin to take a look at these guys, and apparently they've been around since 1994 or some shit like that, and are ISO Certified. Their design is pretty business-like, and even though I was aiming for a different angle, I can't help but to feel a little defeated, it sucks.

How do you deal with this? I'm speaking to the business-men and enterpreneurs out there, wether beginners or veterans. I'm just a 21 year old guy trying to find a niche where I can get good income to live the lifestyle I want...

[Hotwheels]

Come up with a different name.

[FretDancer]

Thats not what I meant, I actually already did and its available, but thats not the point.

[calex]

You will never, ever be the only guy in the market. If an idea is worth doing, someone has done it already.

What you can do is to select a niche that is large enough for you to make a profit, yet small enough not to be too hard to take a slice out of. That should be your number one priority - identifying a need, and deciding if enough people are willing to pay for it.

Competition wise, you need to differentiate yourself in some way. For instance, i launched a startup in the same market with 5 other players, one of whom was Google. The product was one out of a dozen similar ones - yet, not one of those was focusing on the specific country i launched in. I did damn sure that my product is different, more expensive, more 'flashy' (although it's shit compared to Google's) when compared with local competitors. My initial pitch was all about the differences, and how my product can work together with the better known ones. In effect, i capitalized on the research, marketing and the hype that my competitors have already done, and piggy-backed on their work.

[WanderingSoul]

If there are competitors it means there is probably money to be made in that niche. You have to gauge how stiff the competition is and where you can find a competitive advantage over them. Is their website terrible? Are their prices too high/low? Is there a market for a low cost, or for a high end option? Is their marketing sub-par? Is there enough of a demand for another company to enter the market? Is there a smaller niche within that market that you can fill?

[johnw28]

Don't worry about your competitors. Only focus on your clients/customer give them the best service that you can. And when you can't use one of your competitors as an ally. Because they will in the end return the favor.

[Dansmedia]

KEYWORD RESEARCH

You can put hours and hard work into your idea but if you don't do keyword research you're screwed.

[FretDancer]

(04-20-2012 08:27 PM)Dansmedia Wrote:  

KEYWORD RESEARCH

You can put hours and hard work into your idea but if you don't do keyword research you're screwed.

And what does that exactly mean? Are you talking about online publicity for the business here?

[dulst]

Deal with the competition by being either better or different.

Preferably both.