Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

I had coffee yesterday with a woman who is thinking of starting her own business. One of her first questions was, “What’s the market for x here in Albuquerque? My response: “There isn’t one.” I felt badly watching her face fall. However, just because there isn’t a market here doesn’t mean she can’t still do her thing. Thanks to the Internet, there are lots more options available these days.

If you’re thinking of going out on your own, you may have to think way outside the box…your house….your city…your comfort zone. (Also you may not be the target market.)

P.S. Yeah, yeah, there’s the whole “create a new market category” mojo - which is both exciting and possible - for some types of services and products. However, it still ultimately all comes down to selling (a lot of) something ….in your lifetime…before the bank forecloses….your spouse leaves you…your mamma disowns you…and the dog runs away.

Related Post: “So, People Don’t Like You.”

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Tags: marketing, start-ups, entrepreneurs, target markets, entrepreneur sanity check