The following are examples of what some people have found customers want to buy in their particular area:
◆ Imitation perfumes for £2.99 a bottle from a car boot sale near a council estate.This worked because although the people there did not have much money to spend, they were prepared to treat themselves once a week.
◆ An Internet café thrives in a town where there is a base of foreigners who want to keep in touch with home, for example a barrack town used by the Gurkhas.
◆ Fish and chip shops often rely on those leaving the pubs after last orders but one located by a market, opening early to cater for stall holders, can afford to close early. Much more sociable working hours for the owners and staff, and they avoid the hassles and dangers of drunk, and sometimes disorderly, customers.
◆ A seaside town increases its population dramatically during the summer months and gives its traders a new set of customers each week.
Competition comes directly from other shops selling the same products as
yours, and indirectly from other ways that customers spend their money.
In 1999 mobile phones really took off with every teenager having one. Girls’
spending habits changed from using all their pocket money to buy nail varnish, to
buying top-ups for their phones. Initially my takings took a dive but I retaliated by
selling funky mobile phone holders and cases.
