How do you want to die in the cut-throat world of business? Seems like most of us prefer the “familiar” blade.

Think about it, how many Ethiopians /Africans have access to the internet?

An Ethiopian lawyer limiting her client base to just Ethiopians is committing suicide. The same theory applies to most businesses that cater only to a niche clique. Nonetheless, we persist on that same tried & true road. Why? Perhaps it’s comfort; the negative perspective being fear. Most of us prefer the model of staying within our own – those boundaries drawn long ago & cultivated by similar culture, language, race etc… - tides that bind. Very few of us venture out side this territory. Why not try “the road not taken” by most?

“I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference!” - Frost

Now, admittedly, there are both advantages as well as disadvantages to staying within the Niche. The obvious being, who we are is indicative of what we do. If we market and work close to ourselves, it evidently makes us better in what we do. A sales man can sell better than a plumber. A painter is more creative than a doctor.

That is a stretch but the formula can keep going till we reach the destination; a niche market is an easier market to target. If the target is close to home then its makes sense to infer, ‘it’s easier to hit a bull’s eye.’

The problem in our case is that we are comparatively small. Any major city in the Midwest of the US has enough Ethiopians to support a business catered to Ethiopians. Hence, we see enough Ethiopian restaurants in most of these cities. And the fact that it’s an Ethiopian operating an Ethiopian restaurant makes it a better Ethiopian business because an Ethiopian is making the Ethiopian food as well us marketing the business to Ethiopians. There are advantages; it’s as niche as it gets thus somewhat easy to manage, relatively speaking.

The Suicide

The fact remains though; a Jamaican bar in Mississippi run by a Jamaican man in Mississippi is not going to do as well as a regular bar run by a Jamaican man because the target market is small. No matter how close to the center you hit the target by honing your marketing and business resources, it’s not enough to balance/overcome the reality that there aren’t enough Jamaicans in Mississippi.

There is another variable to this, and that is a niche product is not only liked and used by the niche consumer but it eventually culminates into brand loyalty. Thus, the next obvious step is to widen the niche product’s grasp to a wider audience. Had I the fortune to attend the Wharton MBA program, I would know what the exact phrase is to explain this phenomenon. But I would assume it would be something analogous to “widening your target market.”

Your local Chinese take-out is a perfect example. There are a million Chinese run Chinese restaurants in the US not because the food is authentic Chinese cuisine but because these restaurants predominately target a huge market. They cast a wider net, vis à vie to almost all people in any neighborhood.

Niche vs. Wide

Certainly the dilemma is neither clear-cut nor easily decided; for instance, the various money transfer businesses in the DC metro area. Let’s say there is one good Ethiopian owned money transfer corporation about 30 miles from where I live. It’s cheap, somewhat reliable and they specialize in sending money to Ethiopia.

The problem is that there is a Western Union within walking distance from where I live. Yes more expensive and plus, I am not sure how an American company notifies my second cousin who doesn’t have a phone and lives in the service room of another house in Shashemenie. At least with an Ethiopian company I can tell them to contact my second cousin located “Dej Azmatch Desta bet jerba.”

A niche product in most cases regardless of quality is not necessarily as profitable as a general product; for instance a ford focus makes ford a lot more money than a BMW Z4 for BMW, just because more people can afford it.

In the same manner, a breastfeeding blog will have more traffic than a news website for Ethiopians because there are more breastfeeding mothers with internet access than Ethiopians with internet access throughout the world.

Additionally, the Ethiopian news website is competing with a lot more general news websites as opposed to breastfeeding blog that only competes with a few articles in various sites. Contrary to popular belief, country centric news website will give better and more detailed information specific to that particular nation; again generally speaking. Newsweek will is not going to bother with the Ethiopian Millennium celebration per say.

The challenger; it doesn’t necessarily mean that a general product for a general market is the best option. If you don’t find a niche market for the product or service you present, you will most probably fall short. Most newcomers who wish to do business often market to everyone that is accessible with the expectation that everyone will do business with them. This is the same as shooting at the target blind folded and hoping it’s in the vicinity.

The question everyone should ask is if there is sufficient demand for the product or service.

The point is just that, too much niche is suicide; and lack of niche too general. Let’s balance it a little bit better. Carry a few more products in your Arab Suq. Think about starting a website in your professional field before starting one on the country you are from. This is not to say I agree with obtuse idealist notions such as ‘opening our eyes to the world, socializing outside our circles.‘ i.e. get to know Apu from next door; but that’s another topic.