Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a Small Market

In the academic world there is the saying, "Publish or perish". I would take the same concept and apply to the world of the entrepreneur - "Find your niche or find a job."If you cannot find a niche and dominate that niche, you better dust off your resume and find a job. Business is too competitive for the generalist to really make a mark anymore. If you truly want to reap the rewards that all entreperneurs dream of, you need to find a niche and become an expert in that niche.Fortunately you don't need to go it alone. Susan Friedmann has given us a very readable, content rich, step by step manual to help us identify our strenghts and select a niche that is right for us. She also gives us guidance in how to position ourselves, how to effectively market ourselves and use the media to build our business.Actually she covers everything you need to know to separate yourself from the crowd and build a business that will command premium compensation. The expert always gets paid more - even for the same advice.The book is well written and easy to read. At the end of each chapter is a "nugget of wisdom" and a "Susan's Speedy Summary" which allows the reader to refer back to the lessons contained in the chapter.The book is primarily written for the service professional, but the principles apply to any business.If you truly want to build a successful business, you would to well to read and apply the lessons contained in Riches in Niches.

I almost wish I could give this book six stars. I have read over 100 business books and self-help books but this had information I've never found in any of them. The chapter about how to be a coach or consultant alone was worth the price of the book. Yes, a lot of the book is common sense, but people still need to be reminded of it,starting with simple things such as that you need to be an expert in the niche you choose, and you can't pick a niche just for the money you'll make - you also have to be passionate about it. This is hands down one of the best business books I've ever read and one of the few I will likely read a second time and truly use. I plan to buy another copy to give as a gift.

Friedmann has several good articles posted in the Mindconnection online library, so I was interested in reading her book.When I was quite young, I excitedly told a mentor about several new things I was doing. His advice to me was to pick one and do it well. Since then, I have seen the wisdom of that advice proven time and time again. It is better to do one thing well than to do many things poorly. That philosophy is the underpinning of this book.But it's not a rah-rah book that spends a couple hundred pages making the same point over and over. You've probably read such books. Whenever I have finished such a book, I wonder if the author has ever really put the advice to use. There's no "how to get there from here." Riches In Niches lays out a 7-step plan anyone can follow, plus it provides a ton of useful references. Throughout the book, you'll find short case histories that each illustrate a point.The first chapter introduces us to the author. We learn why Friedmann chose the path she did, and we get to learn from her mistakes. The next chapter provides a detailed explanation of why it's better to pick a specialty than to try to be all things.Chapters Three and Four lay the foundation for understanding how niches work. The next seven chapters (Five through Eleven) provide Friedman's seven-step plan. Chapter Twelve ties it all together and provides some additional insights. In the back is an extensive "Recommended Resources" section that, in itself, justifies buying the book.Friedmann writes in a style that reminds me of a transcript of a public speech. This should not be surprising, as she is an accomplished public speaker and is, in fact, a National Board Director of the National Speakers Association.Grammarians will give her a few red marks here and there, but those little errors don't seem to slow the book down. I think they just serve to illustrate one of the points Friedmann made in her book. Don't let perfectionism stand in the way of excellence and accomplishment. For many entrepreneurs, this is a nearly insurmountable barrier. It's the number one reason small firms tend to stay small.You'll find other pearls of wisdom, plus practical advice on how to implement them, in this book. If you're already a niche player, that's great. You may find you can improve your game after reading this book. The same goes for someone who's an employee in a corporation. Don't be a commodity. Command an image of high value, instead, and reap the rewards.

Susan Friedmann has really delivered in this amazing book! If you've wanted to know from scratch how you can tap into the NEW economy of small businesses making it big, you've got to get this book!This book has so much valuable material within its pages, it would easily fit into a two week intensive hands-on workshop, and then some!! This isn't a book you just read and put down - practice what she'd taught you and you'll be set for life.Riches in niches is a book that takes away all the excuses of why you think you can't be rich in your niche.Bravo Susan!

I found Niche to Rich and Niche to Rich: Zap Your Way to Success when I was surfing amazon. I learned a lot of strategies about standing out in a crowded market and why it is essential for entrepreneurs to specialize in a product or service and let your audience know exactly what you do. I am putting some of these skills to work and I am seeing results. As a newbie to this scary new world of entrepreneurs I appreciate these step-by-step books.

I felt this could have been a pamplet; the info contained in the book is probably available from the net for free. It was too basic for my taste and could have been stated in just a few pages. Sorry I can't give it a higher star.