Eggs, Baskets and Your Small Online Business


You've heard the old adage about not putting all your eggs in 
one basket.  While I'm going to touch on the significance of 
this concept to your small online business, what I'd really 
like to expound on in this article is the actual baskets and 
the eggs.

Now, before you tell me I'm putting egg on my face, hear me 
out.  There's some interesting stuff here.

First, let's briefly talk about the significance of putting 
all your business eggs in one basket.  Many of you will relate 
with the scenario that follows.

  After considerable time searching for the perfect business, 
  you come across an opportunity or idea that catches your 
  eye.  Eureka, you've found it.  Your enthusiasm peeks as you 
  obtain your first customers.  In time, you consume yourself 
  with your business — all your time, money and efforts.  You 
  are certain no one else's online business or opportunity 
  could compare with yours.

  Then, the bomb hits.

  Either you find out your business wasn't what you expected 
  and aren't making enough to keep you motivated, or the 
  company/opportunity you were working with goes defunct.

  You're disappointed, perhaps even angry after you've put all 
  your efforts and money into your business.  You swear you 
  won't repeat this again, you'll either find a different kind 
  of business or simply quit.

What's wrong with this picture?

Flawed thinking on two accounts.

1) There is no "perfect" business.  You can make the way you 
do business perfect for you, but a business, in and of itself, 
will never be perfect.  It's how you do the business that can 
make it so wonderful for you according to what you value — 
your time freedom, the money you make, the relationships you 
have with your customers and other colleagues.

2) You've let your business become a personal thing.  You've 
allowed it to define you.  Thus, when it fails, you take it 
personally.  You view it as such a negative experience, you 
certainly will never repeat it again.  The problem is that 
there simply are no guarantees.  You either quit or you decide 
you have not yet found the one and only golden goose.

May I suggest another solution?  And, this is one that has a 
much better of chance of succeeding at any point in your life 
and in any era, even during war or recession.

Here's your answer...

Find out what people are looking for and then provide it for 
them.  But, don't provide those things in just one nice little 
business package, provide them in several.

What I mean by that is don't put all your eggs in the same 
business basket.  Put them in several baskets or businesses.

Let me provide an example to better illustrate this point.  
There is so much information being offered about starting an 
online business and internet marketing.  You can't be online 
looking around for a business opportunity without running into 
a deluge of these products.  An e-book here, an e-book there, 
here an e-book, there an e-book, everywhere an e-book.  You 
know what I'm talking about.

You're sure you can make it big if you can only put out one of 
those products.  The craze is on and you want to be a part of 
it.  But, here's the irony: very few people make it big 
promoting only internet promotion information products.  Did 
you know that?  It's true.

Want to know something even more ironic?

In a popular online search engine, the word "cat" is searched 
40 times more than the terms "internet marketing."  The same 
is true of "web site promotion."  In fact, "music," "travel," 
and "dating" along with common terms containing derivatives of 
those words are each searched at least 25 times more often 
than "internet marketing."

Why restrict your online efforts to such a small niche as 
"internet marketing" when so many more people are interested 
in buying other things?  I'm not suggesting you not include 
internet marketing products in your basket, I'm simply 
suggesting you diversify.  Don't put all your eggs in one 
basket.  See?

In fact, just today I received my "Wordspot Top 200 for 
9/24/01" in my email.  Would it surprise you that with current 
events and coming holidays that "American Flag" made it to #13 
on their list of most-searched words or terms?  "Halloween," 
"halloween costumes," and "gas masks" also made it in the top 
200.

After all is said and done, I would think you could make a 
very nice online business out of selling, say, cat beds and 
pampering cat toys.  Cat beds and pampering toys are very nice 
eggs to put in your cat basket.  But, there are so many other 
baskets (categories and search terms) and such a variety of 
eggs (products within those categories) you could put in them, 
all of which people are searching for.  Don't limit yourself 
to just one basket.

The key is to do your research.  Find out what people are 
looking for, and then build a website around that category or 
search term (basket).  Better yet, build a few websites for 
that basket with different products (eggs) in each.  Then 
test, test, test.

Use search engines and services to do your research such as:
GoTo.com's Search Term Suggestion Tool at
http://inventory.goto.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
WordTracker.com's Free Keyword Report at
http://www.wordtracker.com/report.html
GoodKeyWords.com's Free Tool at
http://www.goodkeywords.com/
WordSpot.com's Free Top200 Keyword Email Report at
http://www.wordspot.com/free-report.html
KeyWordWizard.com's Top 500 and Top 5000 Reports at
http://keywordwizard.com/

If one of your baskets does not do well, do more research and 
see if you can't come up with a different or more niche set of 
eggs.  Or, perhaps you need to consider filling an entirely 
new basket.  

And the best part of all of this egg and basket stuff is that 
if one of your baskets or websites falls and the eggs break, 
you still have several other baskets.  It won't be devastating.  
Actually, it's more like a wonderful, evolving adventure.  Some 
baskets will fall, some will beg for more eggs.

See how this egg and basket thing works?

So, let's go on an egg hunt...on your mark, get set, GO!

P.S. Be sure to take along enough baskets.

------
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About the Authors: 
Heidi and Dave Perry are successful entrepreneurs and founders 
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