Magic Markets
Learn the tricks for getting in tune with today's 5 hottest consumer markets--and watch as your profits begin to levitate.
So you want to start your own business. But do you know which
market you want to target? Finding a lucrative market can be tough.
Be Your Own Boss has taken the guesswork out of the idea
hunt by exploring five markets that are hip, hot and happening. Who
knows? Combining statistics with some creative thinking could
generate the business idea that finally sparks your new path in
life. So without further ado, here are our top picks for
today's five hottest markets.
Hot Market No. 1: Parents/Kids
They say "Mom knows best." Well, moms also control 80
percent of U.S. household spending, plunking down an estimated $1.6
trillion annually on products and services for their families.
There are many ways to tap into today's parenting market,
says Maria Bailey, author of Marketing to Moms: Getting Your Share of the
Trillion-Dollar Market. She sees a wealth of opportunity in
financial services that let parents set up "kid accounts"
to teach money management and secure Web sites that offer parents
instant test results and reports from schools. An estimated 2
million American families are home schooling, creating a new and
untapped product and service niche. To generate ideas, look at how
parents might use your product or service idea differently, Bailey
says. For example, a video-production entrepreneur could
consolidate baby videos into video "baby books" and
create a profitable business in the process.
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Children's fashion is another hot area. Carolina Zapf is
founder of Baby CZ, a New York City company that sells a luxury
line of cashmere clothing for infants up to 24 months. Zapf, 35,
who spent 14 years in the fashion industry, invested $15,000 to
start the company and got $40,000 in orders at her first trade
show. "It was far beyond our expectations," she says.
Baby CZ's sales now near $1 million annually, and its products
are sold through www.babycz.com and at 80 stores nationwide, including
Bergdorf Goodman and mall boutiques. The company is expanding into
shoes, clothing for 3- and 4-year-olds, and high-end baby lotions
and powders.
Tweens-kids ages 7 to 12-and teens are another hot market. U.S.
kids ages 12 to 19 spent $175 billion in 2003 on everything from
fashion and sports to technology, and the population of U.S.
teenagers will reach 35 million by 2010, says Michael Wood, vice
president of Teenage Research Unlimited, a Chicago market research
firm. Tweens and teens are personalizing jeans, lockers, shoes-you
name it-creating new business opportunities, too. "The product
or service has to be tied to a need they have," Wood says.
First among teen needs are rebellion, fitting in and conquering
awkwardness. Remember being 14? Ponder it, and you could profit
from it.
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