Starting Up in a Hot Market

As an Entrepreneur reader, you know we talk a lot about what's hot--which markets are growing, what businesses are hot to start, and what consumers are clamoring for right now. But what is it like to be an entrepreneur in an exploding market? How do you navigate the quick growth, the intense competition and, well, the explosive nature of it all?

First, it's important to stay focused on your main business offering, says Margaret Ross, author of Making Business Work: Inside Secrets of Success and president of the Kamaron Institute, a business consulting and leadership development organization in Peachtree City, Georgia. "Keep the main thing the main thing," she says. It's especially important to keep that focus in a market that's rapidly growing. However, that doesn't mean you should be stagnant--stay abreast of the latest happenings in your industry, read trade publications, watch the competition, etc. "[You could] miss hearing the footsteps of the competition," she says. "There are usually no surprises if you're paying attention."