Madison+main’s Weekly Report – June 24th, 2016

The word “niche” has always looked funny to me and I don’t think most people know what the word really means. I often hear people pronounce it “neesh” as opposed to “nitch.” Regardless (and I don’t mean “irregardless” because that’s not a word), business people bandy the word about frequently. It really means a “specialized, but profitablecorner of the market.”  Many companies have specialized products or services, but most people call themselves a “niche company” or a “niche service provider” when they simply mean small or micro-preneur. Niche doesn’t mean small. We all have that one friend who has an Etsy account and sells incredibly random stuff like a tie-dyed oven mitt for kids. I wouldn’t call them a “niche retailer.” If you sell a product or a service, you need to make sure that there is a market for it first because the most important part of the definition of  “niche” is the word “profitable.”