In a previous life my days were spent talking to exceedingly rich people about investing their money into other people's business ideas. We would set up meetings where the entrepreneur would stand in front of the investors with high hopes of securing money. On many occasions the deals would fall at the start because the entrepreneur hadn't prepared his presentation well or his numbers hadn't added up but a real deal breaker was when the entrepreneur had defined a minute target market.
We did manage to fund some great businesses though.
How about the man who wanted money for bags of air?
His clever idea was to produce plastic pillows on a roll that would be pumped up with air for packing fragile items. The money was in the selling of the rolls of plastic and also in the leasing machines to pump them up - clever eh! Think about it...how many bags of air would you get in the store cupboard? That company went World wide and made a lot of money for the savvy investors because it was need by the masses!
Have you ever wondered how the rich made their money? Some would have been born into money but many others are clever entrepreneurs who see a gap in the market and know how to fill it.
What you will find surprising is that, in most cases, their customers were not their peers! They didn't get rich by selling to the rich.
Unless you are selling fantastic yachts or New York penthouses, the way to build a great business is to decide what the masses want and to fulfill their needs.
Take Richard Branson, I'm sure he's got some seriously rich friends but who do you think his target market is? It's the masses, he sells cheap flights and holidays, cheap telephones, cheap cola, cheap train journeys, the list goes on....
What about the inventors of tiny things like paper clips, staples, cats eyes, pins and needles. These inventions did well because they helped solve a problem. How difficult would it be for you if you had to put together papers for 100 people and had no way of keeping each delegate pack together...see what I mean, a tiny thing can solve a massive problem for someone!
The trick is to keep it simple, help the man in the street not the man in the penthouse and you will have a business that will not only sustain you but could even become a household name like, Dyson, Virgin, Timex and Kodak!
The man who sells to the classes will live with the masses. Sell to the masses and you'll live with the classes! Roy H Williams
Pat Sutton - The Web Celeb Builder - Marketing your business by marketing YOU! - [http://www.webcelebbuilder.com]
Pat Sutton was previously Founding/Director - Advantage Business Angels Ltd. Pat is Co-Founder and self-proclaimed Bossy Boots of Niche Media Marketing. Pat is an Internet Marketing Enthusiast, a professional blogger, an NLP Practitioner, a Certified Hypnotherapist, and Speaker.
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