On Finding Your Product

Filed Under: Business

Deciding what product you will sell stumps a lot of people, especially given how much you can buy at the local Wal-Mart. In fact, if you let it, your business will never get off the ground because you keep thinking that someone else is already selling your product. However, every day new retail sites are launched and new products are “invented” so there is no reason you cannot do the same.

Many of you will already know what product you would like to sell. It is quite likely a derivative of a hobby you have or something you came up with to make your life easier. Take for example the Gary Fong Lightsphere. Gary Fong is/was (don’t really know what he is at the moment other than rich) a wedding photographer who carved a niche for himself by providing a slightly different service to his clients. In the process of his work he divised a “flash diffuser” (something you put on your camera’s flash to soften the light). In short order, he figured his version of a diffuser was working for him, it would work for others as well and went on to have versions manufactured for resale (at $50.00 a pop they aren’t cheap for what they are). Fong’s wasn’t the first flash diffuser on the market nor is it the last. It looks like a glorified piece of tupperware and similar results can be obtained through alternative methods. However, the lightsphere, was product, was in a sense unique, and was/is gobbled up by people who find benefit in it. Point is, Gary Fong created a product that worked for him and solved his needs and then figured it would work for others as well. All he had to do was get it out there and get people talking about it.

If you don’t yet have a product in mind, don’t despair. There are plenty of products available from dropshippers and importers that can get you started. Even with these, pick a product you know something about or are familiar with so that you can add something to the experience of someone shopping on your site.

Example. At one point I had contemplated dropshipping CB Radios and Ham Radio equipment. The margins were small, but I could have gotten started. Problem was I knew little to nothing about either subject and had no affinity much less passion for either of the products. With that in mind, I realized that there was little I could add to the shoppers experience and there was no niche I could target within that market as I was wholly unfamiliar with it. While I would not have lost money per say as I would have dropped shipped product, I would have had a difficult time making money out of it and I certainly would not have enjoyed it. However, for someone who is into that hobby they would have an easy time creating content for a site, providing reviews on products, and providing links on where to buy product and/or even the items for sale. They would do well.

There is a product/service out there for you and there is a market out there for you to tap into. You just need to find it.

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