
Ask HN: Methods for finding niche business opportunities - Terry_B
Hi guys,<p>I found one of the most interesting parts of Tim Ferris' 4 Hour Work Week to be the practical advice for finding viable niche business opportunities. In particular, going to the store and looking at the magazine section and making enquiries based on those, using google test ads etc.<p>I was wondering if anyone would be prepared to share any other highly practical methods like these that they have for finding niche problems/opportunities to pursue?<p>Despite what you might think about the rest of the content in that book, I thought the practical advice was very thought provoking, valueable and something we do not see enough of.
Thought it would be worth trying to elicit some more!<p>Thanks!<p>T
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aymeric
For non-startup type products (small niche softwares, affiliate websites, or
to ensure easy SEO traffic), I do the following:

\- I list the frustrations I had in the last two months

\- I list the list I like to do

With that list, I head over to google keyword tool, and search for keywords
related to what I found in step 1 that have more than 3000 searches per month
and less than 30000 exact keyword pages in google (the 30 day challenge
method: <http://thirtydaychallenge.com>)

I keep brainstorming until I find a list of keywords that are in demand but
have low competition (When you are a one man show, you'd rather focus on a
non-too-competitive niche).

Then I use Market Samourai to check the competition on the first 10 pages of
Google to ensure I will be able to rank my website high in Google on my
keywords.

Next, I put up a website a la Tim Ferriss to test the market a little bit
more. This method only adds value if the test tells you you have a profitable
product. If you can't prove it during the test, it doesn't mean you should
stop.

In parallel, I "talk" (surveys, interviews, forums) to as many potential
customers as I can.

If I feel I am to something, I start coding :)

I wrote about this very topic on my blog.

I published my frustrations there:
<http://aymeric.gaurat.net/index.php/2010/my-frustrations/>

How to test the viability of your idea:
[http://aymeric.gaurat.net/index.php/2010/how-to-test-the-
via...](http://aymeric.gaurat.net/index.php/2010/how-to-test-the-viability-of-
your-online-business-idea/)

~~~
paraschopra
Fantastic! Though the process sounds interesting in theory, I have always
wondered the effectiveness of this process. Can you walk through a sample
keyword research process with examples? I'm sure this will make an interesting
blog post.

~~~
aymeric
You should check out the 30 day challenge. It is free and the market analysis
videos are very interesting (first 10 videos).

------
ThomPete
Shameless selfpromotion:

<http://000fff.org/a-simple-model-for-innovation/>

I wrote this to help people cover the possible option spaces.

Basically there are four areas that your product or service can compete in:

1) Do what others do, but do it better. 2) Do what others do, but do more. 3)
Do what others do, but for a new audience 4) Do what no other is doing

The obvious space you want to be in is obviously 4) when it comes to niche
business. But one often overlooked area is 3) where you take an existing
product or technology and repurpose for a new audience.

My old marketing teacher told us a story about a company that he used to for
worked for.

The company sold heavy duty soap for industrial use but weren't doing well.

The company had a lab that he would often spend some time in to see what was
going on.

One of the things the lab had been playing around with was the color of the
soap. One of the soap colors where bordering pink. It also just so happened
that his daughter loved everything that sparkles. So they ended up making a
soap that was pink with small sparkling bits in it, much less dry sold it as
Fairydust or something like that for kids.

According to him it was a great success. And none the less it's a great way to
explain point 3)

------
patio11
Talk to people who have money and problems. Ask them what their problems are.
Figure out which problems are tractable to a software solution. Sell solution
for money.

Also, anything you've ever seen on a retail shelf has to move $100k gross a
year or it can't justify being made. Many times that if it is at Wal-Mart.
Consider whether you can make software which competes with the physical good.

------
oscardelben
I use market samurai. I wrote a review about it today
<http://freestylemind.com/market-samurai>

It's a genuine review and I really recommend it for internet marketing. That
said, there's my affiliate code in it but you can access the product directly
from <http://www.marketsamurai.com/>

~~~
xiaoma
It looks like you really spent some time to make some useful videos. I'm sure
you've earned any affiliate sign-ups you get.

On the other hand, their site looks extremely scammy. They have a gigantic
page for their full product, crammed with testimonials and claims of how much
you can save, but the price you actually have to pay isn't anywhere in sight.

~~~
JohnnyBrown
The product is made by people whose profession is internet marketing. I'm
inclined to think that "scammy" style is what sells, to judge by how often it
pops up.

~~~
xiaoma
That much is clear. It's also why actual scams are set up the way they are.
Saying it's effective in no way means it's not sketchy.

E.g. the famous art gallery scam is what sells art near tourist attractions,
to judge by how often it pops up.

------
mattgratt
Google Adwords Keyword Tool or Wordtracker (if you want to pay for it)

------
eisokant
MicroNicheFinder, it looks like another one of those Internet marketing apps
with a splash page but it's very good for niche & keyword research.

~~~
patrickk
Yes, I've looked at this and it would fulfill this need quite nicely.

------
bhiggins
I can't help but think of this article on Study Hacks. In particular, scroll
down to the section called The Insider Advantage.
[http://calnewport.com/blog/2010/03/26/how-to-get-into-
stanfo...](http://calnewport.com/blog/2010/03/26/how-to-get-into-stanford-
with-bs-on-your-transcript-failed-simulations-the-surprising-psychology-of-
impressiveness/)

------
seven
ruby -e '%w(proven_to_work_good_ideas_like_task_management_or_erp.txt
professions_and_niches.txt).each_with_index{|x,y|puts
(a=File.read(x).split("\n"))[rand(a.size)]+((y==0)?" for":" :)")}'

