Reviewed by: The Graduate, A Publication of the National University of Singapore Society (NUSS) Publication Issue Date: Jan/Feb 2008
I HAVE always believed that it is better to be a market leader in a niche than in another "also ran" playing around in a big sand pit. So Susan Friedman's Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a Small Market immediately caught my eye. It had a picture of a big red fish, swimming in a small pomd with several other little gold fish.
First, you must know that the book itself is not meant to address business-minded chaps who want to start niche businesses. It's not the nut-and-bolts sort of guide. Say you want to start orchard farming or ornamental fish exports (both niches in Singapore) you are better off researching in that particular area than reading this book.
But as a general guide to personal branding, for example, I have found it to be illuminating. The book says that it teaches you how to be in a "sweetspot" - "the most surefire way to route to success any service professional could want".
How many of us have friends whom we always go to for advice on the best eats, the best schools, the best way to cut costs during holiday? We each of us have a special talent and, in short, Riches in Niches tells us how to exploit this.
The book has an interesting collection of stories about how people become 'experts' in an unusual area and then suddenly spiral up into the limelight into talk shows, media interviews and books.
A copywriter wrote a book about organising and suddenly she was getting calls from the radio and speaking engagements. Now she has written five more books and 600,000 copies have been sold.
Friedmann herself is a tradeshow expert and now is a sought-after writer and speaker too.
Riches in Niches is about how to sell yourself, writing books and public speaking, so i guess it's all rather the circuit of retired politicians. Tony Blair, I read, makes about $770,000 mouthing platitudes at various functions. His niche must be making friends and influencing people.
Friedmann goes into some detail about getting a good name, trademarks and media relations - all heady stuff. But for an ordinary working stiff like me, it's just vicarious pleasure. Funny how many ways there are to make a living, in this big fish bowl.
