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Home » The Famous Blog » Five Important Lessons I Learned from a Niche Business Launch

Five Important Lessons I Learned from a Niche Business Launch

April 2, 2011 - Last Modified: January 24, 2013 by Murlu

Niche Business Launch

During the last two months, I have developed and launched an online business offering Private Label Rights articles: PLRArticlesNow.com.

It’s not my intention to be overly promotional or boast about the business; rather, I’d like to tell you what I’ve learned from the experience that you may be able to apply to your own online ventures.

Things are actually way different

For those that are wondering “okay, who’s this guy?” I’m Murray. I’m the owner of the blog Murlu.com. I’ve had other successful blogs that are still up and running but I can honestly say that developing a business is way different from simply creating content and interacting with a community.

Once you’ve developed a system to creating blogs and chase a niche topic, it becomes quite easy. Chasing a business idea, on the other hand, takes a lot more leg-work than you may realize (but there are a few items that overlap).

You will find many parallels between your knowledge of blogging and launching a business, but there is also a whole new world of obstacles that will pop up along the way that may leave you frozen in your seat.

So, without further delay…

The Five Important Lessons I Learned from a Niche Business Launch

launching business

I can’t say, that I’m a master of launching businesses; all I can tell you is what I personally experienced during the development of my latest venture. You may not hear these all too often but they are important to understand if you choose to go beyond blogging and enter the world of real online business.

  • Think “Business”; Not “Project” – Get out of the idea of thinking of each new item you work on as a “project”. A project doesn’t (generally) come coupled with the additional work you will need to include such as discovering a market and your customers. You may never take a “project” seriously, either. A “business”, on the other hand, aligns your work to maximize your efforts and resources to ensure you’re doing what needs to be done to reach your launch date.
  • Your mission and vision matter – Discovering a niche is about all that you’re often told when starting a blog. A business, in contrast, needs to include a mission and vision to properly align your goals and offerings to the correct market. Your mission is what your business is all about; it’s what gets people attached and on board with what you have to offer. Your vision is where you see your business going in the future; it’s, in many ways, your culture and overall purpose. Blogging, alone, rarely keeps your mind on these two topics. Your mission and vision will keep you on point and focused so your work has the most valuable results for your business.
  • Leverage the hell out of your blog – There is, most likely, a couple viable business ventures you could properly launch directly related to your blog. You may have multiple categories and topics you regularly cover; each of these, in many ways, can become your next business venture. There is a market for everything on the web – don’t be afraid to chase one of your niche topics even further by launching a completely new venture related to what you’ve previously covered such as an e-book, video series or any number of information-related products. Leverage the hell out of your blog once you’ve set your mind to what niche topic you’d like to cover by including it in each of the post on the same topic.
  • Learn as you go – Hackers have the urge and need to learn from the ground up; they never settle with the intended purpose of an item. Instead of waiting for every ‘chip’ to fall into place; learn the necessities of your business while it’s running. You see, you can never be quite sure that every one of your plans will work out the way you imagine them to; instead of trying to plan for the future, confront it face on and adapt as you go. Get into the mindset of learning only when need be – don’t assume everything will work, but be ready for do your research when it does pop up.
  • Don’t wait for perfection – You’ll most likely approach your business venture much like you do your blog: you try to ensure that every little detail is perfected before you hit the publish button – stop it! It’s okay if you take an extra day or two with your blog because you’re pushing free content, but when you realize that every day you fail to launch your business is money left on the table, you realize that now is the best time to launch. You simply won’t be able to perfect everything because everything changes (in time). Go with what you have and align yourself after you’re up and running based on the feedback.

There will be many other aspects of launching a business that will certainly arise, such as the technology you choose as a platform, but understanding these five lessons has created the most amount of impact in my online venture.

In all, change your mindset from that of a blogger to business owner. Set a definitive goal for the purpose of your business and align each aspect of your work, efforts and resources to best move you forward in your ventures. Don’t assume that everything will work out how you’ve imagined it; always test, optimize and listen to feedback. Tap into your own community and network for help when need be. You can go beyond the basics of blogging; switch up your mindset and the next online business could be yours.

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Filed Under: Online Business

About Murlu

Follow @MurrayLunn

Hi, I'm Murray. I am a freelance writer with a mission to share the possibilities of Business Beyond Blogging. I have multiple niche & authority projects, and I'm the lead editor at AffiliatePrograms.com which offers great advice about Affiliate Marketing and more!

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{ 45 Responses }

  1. Hung Hong says:
    I love to promote new products since it's new and less competitors
  2. Shiva says:
    Hi Murray, Congrats on your new venture and best of luck for it. I agree with you when you say that one should look at a business as business and not as project. A project is something that is done in your leisure time or part time while a business needs a lot of professionalism as well as hard work. On the other hand one should not fear trying new things in a businesses and should not step back from playing with new ideas. Like you said, perfection is not needed in a business but yes, dedication and hard work is. Regards, Shiva
    • Vinay says:
      Hi Shiva, You are correct, perfection is not important but dedication is very much important. Regards, Vinay.
  3. Alex says:
    If I could only do this, Murray, I think I would be a rich man. Because I do have ideas to start a business(the brick and mortar type), but I never act upon it just because I am too scared of failing. I think I need a push to do that step and maybe the ability to take a risk. I know that I don't have to and shouldn't wait for the perfect condition, because like you said, there will never be a perfect situation to start, but for now, I will just have to research the market just a little bit longer:P
  4. divas says:
    Very informative article! A do follow points not only for bloggers, but these point do apply in any business...
  5. Axcell Van says:
    Awesome tips. It takes a lot to launch a business. Pay attention to every guideline and suggestion that comes across your way.
  6. Sathish says:
    Hi Murray, Thanks for this wonderful article. I already bought few domains and I am almost ready to launch two businesses, but the only thing lacking was me. I know that I have been busy with my blogs and I am missing the x factor to kick start my business. But now I know being busy is all the life of a man in this world and i must backup my business and start it, if I want to achieve great heights. I am going to start them within this week and I hope that I will achieve better results with mine just like yours. Sathish
    • Murray says:
      Hey Sathish, Awesome man! Do it, do it, do it! We all have a mass of project and business folders on our computers that are collecting digital dust - let's end this by getting things out there! Our readers will forgive us if we're a bit vacant for a week or two while we work on the core of our business ventures. We can use our knowledge to talk about what we do. Hell, I did this recently with my PLR venture. I knew I wouldn't have much time to write content for my blog so I made a journal that documented the process. I could share great information and still stay focused. The time is NOW to go for the gold. Not tomorrow, not a week from now. Today.
  7. Mani Viswanathan says:
    It's important to give 100% behind every business to be successful. Focus is very much essential along with hard work. P.S. I loved that image about Climbing to Success.
    • Murray says:
      Certainly. A project is something that you may just do in your free time. Since you don't have things "on the line" than you just kind of go at it at your free will which means that things rarely get done. Business, on the other hand, makes you set goals, milestones and roadmaps so things NEED to get done else it doesn't work out. Thanks for your comment Mani.
  8. Ayden says:
    For perfectionists, admittedly myself "Don’t wait for perfection" is a very hard thing to let go of. But this is critical. I'm slowly learning this lesson!
  9. Tinh says:
    Think business is the right way as project sometimes means non-profit. Great idea :-)
    • Murray says:
      Oh, exactly Tinh. I mean, we should all have passion projects that are off to the side but if we're really wanting to replace our day job than we need to get focused and treat it like a real business.
  10. Jitendra Singh says:
    lovely tips. everyone should have to read them. I liked this one most "Dont wait for perfection". Most of time we wait to launch some product or any service just because we want a kind of perfection... it is good but not practically true. So go for what you have an start before someone just cross you.
    • Murray says:
      Ya! At the speed the web goes; our ideas are already being worked on half way across the world. It's like technology, those that enter the market first are generally the ones that capture the attention of the masses; don't wait for tomorrow what can be done today.
      • Jitendra Singh says:
        Yes Murray, I am agreed with you. Thanks.
  11. Dennis Edell says:
    Think “Business”; Not “Project” - I was reading this once before in relation to building new bogs. Everyone says, i have a new blog project going, when in reality, if it is business and serious enough, it should be touted as such.
    • Murray says:
      Definitely. That little mindset shift, Dennis, really puts things into a whole new perspective. If you treat your project like a hobby than you're going to make hobby pay. If you treat your business like a business than you're going to always improve and earn more.
  12. karan says:
    Great article friend, pretty informative. Good to know at least there are still some bloggers, going for unique stuff. Keep up the good work. Regards, Karan
    • Murray says:
      Hey Karan, Thanks for the kind words. We all, as bloggers, can strive to change up the "game" by going into ventures that don't just related to our blogs. We have the knowledge of setting up the platform, creating content, driving traffic and building a community - why not port that knowledge into new areas, ya know? There's a lot of opportunity out there to be had.
  13. Alexis says:
    I've also learnt from my experiences to learn as I go. If you wait for perfection you will never achieve anything. Perfection is not from this world but we can only strive towards it. This does not mean you can just publish any work out there. If your work is below the standard of course you'll never get noticed . Most people never make money online because they never even dare taking any action. Thanks Murray your post is inspiring indeed.
    • Murray says:
      Hey Alexis, Each of us are experts in something if you look at it from the perspective that there are always new people learning what we already know. Trying to create a product for the high end bloggers is going to be difficult; I can be done but if we focus on people that are just starting than we will be able to reach a large market, show our expertise and use that feedback to go even higher in our skills because it's those interactions with people that make us better at what we do :D
  14. Dave Grimes II says:
    Great advice here Murray. I especially like your point about perfectionism. That is something I've always struggled with. I am SO neurotic when it comes to making things I put my name on "just right." Eventually my business partners had to sit me down and tell me that my work was just fine days, sometimes WEEKS, prior to my giving it to them for release. It meant that content creation slowed for no good reason, and it was costing us loads of potential site visits and money. Hopefully someone like me will read you advice here and avoid the mistakes I made!
    • Murray says:
      Dave, it's one of the hardest things to get over and it does take that set of fresh eyes to keep us on point, ya know? Hell, how many bloggers here have a folder on their computer that's ebook related but work just isn't being done on it - I have one that's been sitting for nearly 8 months now, sheesh! It's more about action these days than trying to make something that fits EVERYONE; you have to get something out there to get that feedback that helps you evolve your product over time but you can't do that til you launch.
  15. semmy says:
    Hi Nice article Murray. I agree with you, we don't have to wait for everything to be perfect. Nobody perfect. Thanks for your article!
    • Murray says:
      Glad you enjoyed it Semmy. Use that thought and get out there, create, create, create!
  16. Fran Aslam From Onlinewriter says:
    Hi Murray: Nice to read your post here. Informative and content writing. I learned one very important lesson, which I try to adopt so many time, but have not completely added to my thinking. This is the last strategy your mentioned. Trying not to look for perfection. One of my project is waiting for perfection. After reading your post, I decided to let go as it is. Thanks for this reminder I needed that. Enjoy your Sunday Fran A
    • Murray says:
      Hey Fran, Glad you enjoyed the post :) The thing about what you're working on is that you ALREADY have a lot more knowledge than who you're likely to sell to, ya know? For example: if you're creating a traffic generation ebook than you're not trying to appease to other bloggers that already know this stuff - you could aim it at a market where people have just got started with their own online business and have no idea what to do in terms of traffic generation. All in all, unless your specific market IS bloggers than you don't have to chase this idea of 'one upping' each other; you can create an amazing piece of work for people with the knowledge you already have because you have the experience.
      • Fran Aslam From Onlinewriter says:
        Hi Murray: Well you are right up to some extent, but, it is the personal feeling to come up with such outstanding idea that, or to present the idea in such perfection that no once finds any fault in it. But then again this is an impossible situation. Thanks Have an awesome week Fran A
        • Murray says:
          The parity of perfection :D. We, as humans, can't reach it just because there will always be new information to add to our work. The best that we can do is to let others give feedback, incorporate it and then give it back to the community which creates a great sense of interactivity, ya know? Thanks for the comment Fran :)
  17. Wasim Ismail says:
    The point about leverage out of your blog is is great for anyone looking to take their blog to the next level, there is always something new you can do out of your blog, and just as you said it, don't be afraid to launch ebooks, videos and other products related to your niche topics. One thing for sure is that you cant stay still, you have to keep looking for new creative ideas to promote and take your new business to a new level.
    • Murray says:
      Right on Wasim! If you think about it: Writing maybe 20 posts and packaging them is your eBook. Just think, even at 1 per day you would have an eBook in less than a month. Video can be even quicker. Additionally, you could maybe use those 20 separate posts to launch a new venture where you place your freelance services as the main point rather than trying to get people to subscribe and share; you use the posts to gain that initial traffic.
  18. Dana says:
    Thinking as business over project is surely a good thing. Project is a work that finish when it is finish while business is a never finish work. Thinking as business makes us to think the future.
    • Murray says:
      Exactly Dana. It's a completely different mindset. A project is one with a definitive stop (usually) where as a business is constantly evolving; you will always have something new to adapt to your project as time goes on which is especially important if you're doing so online.
  19. Fisayo says:
    These are really great lessons that leads to success. Thanks for sharing
  20. Khalid Hosein says:
    Nice article Murray. No offense, but I feel like I've read more than a few of these types of high-level how-tos. I'm guessing you have a part II and perhaps even a part III in you where you talk about the mechanics of launching. Cheers! _
    • Murray says:
      That would be a pretty awesome set of follow ups Khalid. The most important thing, for me to convey, is that getting started is more important that a lot of what happens afterwards because you can't go any further until you have something. You can learn all you want about the later aspects of running an online business but none of it matters unless you can put what you've learned into implementation :)
  21. Jerry says:
    Well obviously you wouldn't want to push garbage out there. But if I learned one thing from the likes of Paul Graham it's that simply launching can be such a boon for the process of building your business. Being out there doing something, getting feedback, and actually seeing your idea take shape can make all the difference.
  22. Jerry says:
    Well obviously you wouldn't want to push garbage out. But if I learned one thing from the likes of Paul Graham it's that simply launching can be such a boon for the process of building your business. Being out there doing something, getting feedback, and actually seeing your idea take shape can make all the difference.
    • Murray says:
      Indeed Jerry, it's that Ready. Fire. Aim! approach to launching. You can make a million guesses and assumptions about what will happen but the best course of action is to learn from the feedback you receive in the process. You may find some of your launch ideas don't work out while others pick up pace; you'll learn what people truly want when they share their insights - there's always room to expand your offering but the most important thing is to just get something out there.
  23. Harrison Li says:
    The factors you have written are all great but I don't personally agree with the last one, you said don't wait for perfection, but we need our content or product to be perfect and nice for the visitors, if one delivers a low-quality piece of information to the reader then it will lower the reputation of your website! That's my point of view how I do things though. Not saying it's completely wrong but maybe a little change for that tip should be "Don't wait for perfection to come naturally go get it yourself!" Harrison
    • Murray says:
      Very valid Harrison. My response, to your comment, would be you should be chasing after perfection but it's equally important to get something out there. The web moves at such a fast pace that trying to land the perfect piece of content means that others can swoop in and steal your thunder. In many cases, it's best to have a bit of imperfection because it leaves room for your community to interact. I'm sure you've noticed this at some point: You write a piece to complete that people don't really have anything to add. People may leave a comment but they're more or less just a "thank you" rather than an expansion on the topic. This works for products as well. You won't ever be able to create a product that satisfied 100% of your target audience. You can always add to it at a later point and, in fact, showing that you're improving the product based on user input gives a greater sense of value to your customer because they see that you're listening. Overall, your point is very valid because you want to make sure you deliver the best that you can but it should be based on your own level instead of tacking on items that you've found "fun" from others. There's always room to improve but you can't make those improvements until something is out there.
      • Harrison Li says:
        Oh yes I remember that tip, I read that somewhere else before, it is really true I agree with you, don't always make things perfect or a hundred percent correct/complete, because one nothing is perfect in the world and second you get comments/suggestions to the post, that's true I even have a post about it, it's scheduled to be published some time later but anyways that's not the point, the important thing is never make things perfect but at least above average, that way the stuff you provide isn't completely bad or good, meaning = room for comments. That is what me comment on your post anyway! haha it works! Need an example? Why is there an iPhone 4 when the first one is enough? Because there are always improvements that can be made! Harrison
        • Murray says:
          Perfect example (iPhone 4) Harrison. The first products (posts, etc) are always for your early adaptors so it needs to be good for them but you'll get more people coming to your offer in due time as the word spreads. You can go back, update, improve and expand on the topic. Which makes me wonder, also, on why many of us bloggers try to make NEW posts rather than adding more to existing posts. We're quick to write a new post but we rarely go back to our early (popular) work to improve it with updated knowledge; hrm, maybe this could be the start of less overall "overload" and a lot more "pillar posts" for us :D

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