While you’re checking out internet business ideas, are you easy prey for the “idea of the week”? That’s what Duct tape marketing guru John Jantsch
cautions entrepreneurs about here.
Ninj tells me I’m a sucker for a new idea. He’s right, of course. I can’t help it. They’re shiny.
However, if I know you, your ears just perked up at the mere mention of the words new idea — because, even if you’re already hot on the trail of a smart, profitable idea for an internet business, there will always be a part of you investigating new ones.
Even if just to see how other people are making a living online.
For example, the Ninja and I are living proof that you can make a good living online.
The first of three important components in succeeding as an internet entrepreneur is to identify a need (or a perceived need) and fill it.
(What are the second two? I’ll tell you in a minute.)
Train yourself to keep one eye on consumer trends to see what’s coming. Amaze your friends by becoming the next Great Rifkin of trend prediction.
Better yet, locate a solid trend that fits with your personal and business goals, and formulate an internet business plan.
Be a people watcher & trend observer
People are endlessly fascinating. “They’re my species,” as Maude told Harold.
Observing peoples’ habits and preferences can also lead to limitless profitable online business ideas.
- Look at the article in the Dec 2009 issue of trendwatching.com, “10 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2010.”
Trend watchers have named one of the 10 new consumer trends (F)luxury.
Fluxury = Luxury in flux
Here is what they mean. While you scan this, let the list of questions below ignite a new idea, or add fuel to one of your existing online business ideas.
In 2010, luxury, and what it means to a bewildering number of ‘consumer segments’, will remain in flux.
So how will luxury brands fare in the next 12 months? What will define luxury over the next few years? The answer is ‘luxury will be whatever you want it to be’.
After all, what constitutes luxury is closely related to what constitutes scarcity.
And, beyond the basic needs, scarcity is in the eye of the beholder, especially those beholders who are desperately trying to be unique. Now that there are so many more ways to be unique than just buy the biggest and the most expensive, how about luxury constituting:
Anything commissioned? Providing ‘access’? Secrets? Stories? Time with one’s loved ones? Time for oneself? All things local? Peace and quiet, if not escape? Eco-friendly? Human-friendly? Animal-friendly? Caring? Empathy? Perks? Craft? Friends? Having a larger-than-life perspective? Households of six or more? An audience? Eccentricity? Appointment-only? Relevant information? Extreme personalization? Not having or wanting to consume? Being opinionated? Anything premium? Fuck-you money? Curation if not the absence of any kind of choice? Philanthropy? Bespoke goods and services? Knowledge? Skills? Frugality? Health? Etiquette & manners?
Or a mix of any of these?
So don’t worry about missing out on the next big thing in luxury, focus on defining it.
How? By finding and coining the right (status) trigger for the right audience.
Just declare that the end is nigh for anything that’s getting a little too affordable, too accessible, too polluting, or just too well-known. Then introduce something very different (if not the opposite), appealing to the in-crowds who are ready to jump ship anyway
Personally, I get giddy thinking about the possibilities for creating, producing and marketing an online fluxury business. I know an artist who is planning to make the most of the trend of people’s craving for art.
And now, lentils and jellybeans, as promised, here are the:
3 central components for success as an internet entrepreneur:
- Identify a need (or a perceived need) and fill it with a product or service.
- Get your product or service in front of an engaged and targeted audience.
- Systemize your service or product for optimizing your sales.
(Thanks to GT Bulmer for his succinct interview about online success on Young Entrepreneurs.com.)
Keep your eye on the Cookbook for further appetizers and ingredients having to do with your internet business success in 2010 and beyond….
Source: www.trendwatching.com. One of the world’s leading trend firms, trendwatching.com sends out its free, monthly Trend Briefings to more than 160,000 subscribers worldwide.
