Another Entreprenuer Filling a Niche – Honeywear, Inc
As entrepreneurs we all understand how important, and profitable, filling a niche can be. Sometimes finding a niche can be as easy as thinking of products or services we wish existed, and instead of waiting for somebody else to bring them to market, doing it ourselves. That’s exactly what Christen Ward of Honeywear, Inc has done with her company.
As you can see Christen is getting a lot of attention due to her unique approach to a product she (and many others) needed, and all of her hard work is really paying off! Her company recently caught the eyes of Forbes.com and their “Boost Your Business” contest, where she found out she was one of the finalist.
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By: Christen Ward
Honeywear is a company committed to producing functional, locally made products in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. About 3 years ago, we (Christen Ward and Kristin Keliher) could not find a made in the USA baby carrier to suit our needs, so we created one! As soon as we began using our creation, we knew we would have to share it with everyone! We saw an amazing business opportunity to market something that was uniquely ours while filling a market niche. With that in mind, we incorporated as Honeywear, Inc. in January of 2007.
We started Honeywear with essentially no capital, which has been one of the biggest challenges, but also one of our best assets. The small amount of capital made production challenging, limited our funds for marketing and PR and prevented us from taking salaries. However, without major loans, we have been able to turn a profit in under 2 years! And through determination and grassroots marketing we have achieved brand recognition.
Around May of 2008, we were notified of a national competition, put on by Forbes.com—the annual Boost Your Business Contest, with a grand prize of $100,000. Honeywear, along with 1500 other national applicants, sent Forbes a 500 word synopsis of their business plans. From those, the contestants were narrowed to 20 by a panel of judges. We were absolutely thrilled when we received the notification that we were in the top 20. In order to make it to the final round, each company needed online votes. The 5 companies with the most online votes would move into the final round. Honeywear finished in 3rd place. In the beginning of October, our letter of notification informed us that we would be flying to New York for a 10 minute presentation of our product and company. The presentation was to be in front of a panel of judges, all of whom are high powered executives. We were also notified that we would have 1 week to rewrite our business plan to the specifications of Forbes.com and to prepare our presentation.
The presentation went better than we could have ever expected. It will be aired, along with the other 4 finalists, on Forbes.com on Monday, November 3rd. The winner is determined 50% on the judges’ opinions of our business and 50% on public voting. Get involved and help a small business get major capital! To help Honeywear win, you can vote from the Honeywear website, www.honeywear.net. Just click on the Boost Your Business button from the Honeywear home page!
Ribbit Films – Entrepreneur Fills Niche & Finds Success
The November 2008 issue of Money Magazine landed in my mailbox a couple days ago, and inside it I was pleased to find an interview with an entrepreneur who typifies the idea of filling a niche to find success. Below is a summary of the interview he gave to Josh Hyatt.
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Name: Navarre Joseph
Age: 37
Business: Ribbit Films, a NY based company providing stock video footage for use in ads and promotions
Started: 2004
Annual Revenue: $900,000
How He Got the Idea:
Navarre was working as a photographer at an ad agency when a retailer came to them in a hurry wanting a video clip of a couple being cuddly. Navarre suggested they find a place that could sell the footage without the background, and it turned out there was no such place! Immediately he saw a niche to build an online library of moving images that could be superimposed on any backdrop. He started shooting clips of “iconic” moments: Three seconds of a soccer kick, a home-run swing, a handshake, that could be used by the designers on any backdrop they wanted.
Greatest Challenge:
Navarre found it difficult to educate the desisgners about his services. Designers at first did not see a need, and using their clips which cost $299 each did not appeal to them. Nobody wanted to use the clips, until they saw someone else using them.
How He Overcame It:
He put the footage in peoples hands. He sent potential clients a disk of his work, and put free clips on their website that people could download and play with. Pretty soon people were asking “Where have you been!”
To win clients, I had to show them why they needed my pioneering video service
Navarre Joseph
Advice To Others:
When you’re talking about something people haven’t seen before, it’s hard for them to envision. So wherever you can, show them rather than tell them.
Navarre used many techniques we have talked about here at SmallBizbee.com. He essentially gave his product away for free so people could get used to working with it, and then found they couldn’t live without it. He put is product in their hands, which we know is a way to get word of mouth advertising started. And he has made sure he has a top notch product and service which is the foundation of building a successful business.
Are you a successful entrepreneur, or do you know one? Why not submit their story to us so they can be featured here?
