Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I had an idea to start a website but found so many others with the same info. Theirs is not as detailed as I wanted mine to be and doesn`t have some of the places I want to list but the other sites are pretty large! Can I even compete???

 

HI,
Okay, you basically answered your question yourself, may be without using the marketing language I am going to use to try and answer you.

• When you said your site going to be detailed, you are actually trying to hit your `niche`. In online marketplace, if you are a small player you ought to have a tightly packed niche.Examples would be: Egg-only recipes, Dog winter clothing,left handed guitarists etc. Try to approach your subject with more refinement,that way you`ll project yourself way different from those BIG guys.This is the key.
• By saying they are not listed at places you want yours to be listed, do you mean they are not easily searchable? Or do you mean you can have an edge over them by listing your site at places where there is more likelihood of finding your customers? Great example would be, listing in regional  Craiglist or Gumtree, where Walmart rarely advertise their new products.

Bottom line, if all small webmasters would have thought like you we wouldn`t have seen Facebook, Ebay, Yahoo and my space. They all started small.

thanks for the reply.

I guess if I start small and very detailed in one area I can expand later to others slowly. huh?!

The places i have yes are ones that don`t advertise and I`ve driven by or heard from someone else.

I read an interesting book about women, a few years ago. I wish I could remember the name, to give the author credit, but maybe someone will recognize the thoughts.

In the book, the author talked about how everywhere she went, other women complained that there weren`t any good men left; they couldn`t get a man in their life, and so forth and so on.

The author talked about the difference between "getting" a man in these women`s lives, versus "attracting" a man. She would ask these complaining women what they were doing to attract a relationship; what they had to offer.

I think there`s a valuable lesson here. How many people believe that "competition" means "getting" more customers?

Personally, I think the first rule of competition should be that you go out and do what you want to do, because you want to do it. Not because you want to form a billion-dollar business, or get famous, or win a prize, or any other aspect of "getting" other people to applaud. Do what You want to do because YOU have a passion for it, really like doing it, and want to have fun doing it.

If you keep an eye on the concept of being attractive, interesting, and offering something useful not only for yourself but perhaps for other folks, you`ll naturally be competing.

Competition isn`t about how many people are in the field! It`s about being the Best in the field....or giving it your best shot trying to be the best.