New Markets: Why Leaving Your Comfort Zone Is A Good Idea

As a business owner, you will doubtless have particular markets that you sell your wares to. For instance, let’s say that you run a bicycle store. Your target market will be people that want to cycle for leisure and competition purposes.

You might have thought about targeting different audiences. Like people that want a bespoke bicycle, for example. Or those that want to buy recycled bicycles. You might have even thought about offering a vintage bicycle restoration service.

Of course, those new markets might sound lucrative, in theory. But how do you know that they will be in practice?

Photo courtesy of Joe Mabel

As someone that runs a business, you will be used to taking risks. Entering your existing marketplace was a risk you took when you first set up your enterprise. But if you want to branch out, it makes sense to leave your comfort zone to help grow your business. Here’s why:

You don’t want your competitors to grow quicker than you

If you’ve thought about branching out into a particular niche, chances are your competitors will have too. That’s why it is important to strike while the iron is hot, as it were. The last thing you want is to be known as a follower. You want to be known as a leader!

Competition can often be quite tough, depending on your market and location. The business world doesn’t wait around for people to make decisions. One of the crucial facts of running a successful company is being willing to adapt to changing market conditions.

You want to earn more money by innovating and pioneering

If you find that you will generate more revenue in a particular niche, it’s best to establish yourself in that niche first. Otherwise, you could find yourself competing with a plethora of established businesses. And we all know how tough that can be!

Take Issa Asad from Florida, for example. When he first started in business, he introduced the concept of takeaway food to gas stations. Now every gas station around the world is doing the same thing! He also pioneered the prepayment PIN concept for mobile phone purchases.

You want to expand into new areas

My mother always used to tell me never to “keep all my eggs in one basket.” That rings true in the business world. The only reason today’s successful firms thrive is because they offer a varied choice of products and services.

It’s no secret that, in some industries, pinning your hopes on one flagship product or service can soon lead to failure. Consumers love innovation and will always flock to buy the “next big thing.” It’s your job to come up with that next big thing!

You want to create simple solutions to common problems

We all buy stuff because we want solutions to our daily problems in life. If we’re hungry, we buy food. If our car’s low on gas, we buy petrol. And so on.

Sometimes there are strategies for solutions you’ve identified that make it easier for people to solve their problems. But if you just stick to what you do now, you’ll never have a chance to grab that opportunity!