Start-up business advice needed please!?

Question

I really need advice from self-employed people in service industries.

I have been thinking of starting my own PR consultancy, and have discovered that there are already over 1500 PR agencies/consultancies in London alone, never mind throughout the UK.

Do you think its possible to carve a sufficient niche market here, or is the market too saturated in your opinions?

Answer 1

Certaxrugby gives you great advice.  The only thing I'd add to it is, as I've mentioned in other answers to your questions, to make sure you really understand what your clients want to achieve.  Talk your clients' language and deliver on what they're paying you to do and you'll have a business that will grow rapidly as your reputation spreads.

Good luck!

Answer 2

All I can say to you on an honest basis is that some of these online opportunities are proven to be scams that is very true therefore it is about researching to see what is genuine and what is not however some people think that online businesses are get rich quick schemes which they are not they take alot of work just like any business however the rewards for that work will be good. I have been a personal development and success coach for 5 years not and the most genuine opportunity I have found is a 3 1/2 year old company.

http://www.coachofsuccess.com

Answer 3

Hi

Actually, having this many firms out there may be a good thing - it tells you that there is a certain amount of work floating round!

When I launched my business 3 years ago, I niched and it worked brilliantly.

It’s certainly helpful to be able to concentrate your marketing efforts in a particular area. Instead of limiting you, it can help position and focus you. You will have more targeted marketing materials and a more specific introduction or “elevator speech.”

This doesn’t mean that you can’t take on other clients outside your target niche! Niching has not limited my business – and in fact has acted as a platform for developing my client base in other areas. So I now have something like 15 'niches' I serve through my business now - with different messages to each.

Choosing a niche can also help with name recognition and branding. You’ll develop a reputation as being the professional to contact for certain challenges. You’ll be more memorable to people you meet and will increase your chances of getting referrals. If someone can’t describe what you do, who you do it for, and how they benefit, they won’t be able to make a compelling case for why someone should call you.

It can be more comfortable in the beginning when you are building confidence to specialize in an area you know well and with a segment of the population that may mirror yourself.

One approach if you do not have a specialist area is simply to choose one that interests you. Find out as much as you can about it, read the specialist journalson the subject, and then launch yourself into the market using that knowledge.

Who do you enjoy working with? Think in terms of age, profession, gender, education, interests, marital status, family size, hobbies, lifestyle, and values.

Other questions you might consider are:

• Who can afford your services?

• Who could be a good long-term client?

• Who could be a good source of referrals?

• What area do you feel uniquely qualified to work in?

• In what area do you have the most connections?

• In what area(s) are you perceived as an expert?

Your ideal client profile may change over time. In the beginning it can be helpful to work with different types of clients. It will help you determine who you enjoy working with and what types of situations you enjoying dealing with. As you develop, however, you can quickly recognise which clients are useful to you – and which you might want to refer on to other professionals.

It’s important to pay attention to the types of clients who come your way. Keep track of your clients and see if they don’t begin to naturally fall into one or more groups. For instance, a financial planner I know found that many widows seek her services and refer other widows to her. She developed a niche dealing with widows – purely by accident but it gave her a ‘hook’ upon which she successfully built more business herself.

Sometimes it pays to test the waters. You might think you’d love to work with a certain group but you’re not sure how receptive they’ll be or if they can afford your fee. If you explore a target market and discover it’s not for you, it doesn’t have to be a catastrophe. It can be valuable learning. Nothing has to be set in stone. You can always print new business cards, change a website or create a new brochure.

I found the get clients now programme really helpful in launching and growing my business - http://www.mcssl.com/app/aftrack.asp?afi... - although American it actually works really well here in the UK, and because the coaching is done by telephone over a month with a group of other professionals in the service sector it is highly motivating. (And it is probably the most cost effective marketing spend you will ever make. Cheaper than an advert and more effective now and into the future. And if you want to do it without coaching the book is less than $20).

Welcome to the adventure!

Answer 4

their is always a niche, and its all about who you know.  Do some freebies to get a client list, use them as referrals, and target very specific niches until you can expand broadly.