Mass appeal products do garner massive sales, BUT getting your product on radar screen of millions of consumers is an extremely difficult and expensive task. Even large corporations who spend millions often miss mark and their product winds up remaindered on shelves of discount dollar stores.

A much better way to turn your ideas into profits is to market to niches. A niche is a tightly defined group of consumers who are deeply interested in a specialized line of products or services.

Not everyone is interested in fine clocks, but thousands of people ARE and will pay good prices for them. A web site that becomes known as a center for fine Austrian grandfather clocks might easily outpace a site selling $10 watches. Put simply, it is better to sell to a few people who REALLY want your product than a lot of people who don't care much about what you sell.

Getting her first clients was easy. There were a few busy families in our neighborhood who were eager, even desperate to use her services and expertise. The woman who shares a back fence with me who just started a high-paying, but really demanding job with an accounting firm, and husband and wife sales team around corner, among others, retained Paula's services almost immediately.

Once Paula had settled into a routine with her new clients, she found she wanted more. Her clients were really happy with her work, but due to nature of business, most only wanted her to come in once a week, or even once every two weeks. Considering she spent about two hours per job, she found she was working about 10 hours per week. This was a good start, but not nearly enough.

Paula came to me one afternoon seeming a little frustrated. "I know you give business advice to people with small businesses," she said, "but how about people with tiny businesses? If this business is going to fly, I really need to get word out, but I don't have more than a few dollars to spare."