Could Your Product Serve An Unexpected Market?

I have yet to meet a successful entrepreneur who hasn’t been suprised by how their product or service was ultimately received by the market.  So many startups go into business with a plan of exactly how things are going to play out, yet ultimately the unexpected happens – a different market comes to light.

If you are trying to grow, but are having difficulty, perhaps you are not considering the unexpected markets.  Learn from these folks! They went in with a plan, and when the unexpected market spoke out they reacted… and their businesses took off.

Toys For Your Grandparents

The Plan - Vivian of Catnap Kitties invented a toy cat with a patented harmonic purr system that simulates the subtle sound and comforting feel of holding a real purring cat.  The soft and cuddly toy was designed for children.

The Unexpected Market - Unexpectedly the toy has been a big seller with senior citizens and individuals with special needs.   After all, where do real cats curl up?  On grandpa’s lap, of course.  The grand kids are too busy pulling the cat’s tail.

$1M Learning Lesson

The Plan – After being awarded $1M of VC funding to grow his company InnerSell, Craig Elias, discovered that there was a need for another business – explaining the concept behind InnerSell called ‘trigger events.’

The Unexpected Market - Craig has already presented to over 1,000 people, is authoring a book on the subject, and is deemed by many as the authority on ‘trigger event selling.’

Money Management For The Rich

The Plan – Judy Heft of Judith Heft & Associates, Inc.  launched a niche business to help senior citizens with bill paying and daily money management.

The Unexpected Market -   It has since evolved into clients who are mostly in their 40’s and 50’s.  These busy executives and entrepreneurs are perfectly capable of paying their own bills and keeping records but are just too busy juggling work, family, travel and the vacation home in the mountains.

Computer Literacy At Home

The Plan – Brian Richardson created an instructional DVD company that teaches fundamental computer literacy skills to kids. Perfect for public schools, right? Wrong.

The Unexpected Market – The homeschooling community was all over it.  I basically stumbled onto this market by accident, and it has worked because homeschooling parents are always seeking innovative and empowering information to teach their children.

Waffle Parties

The Plan – Thomas DeGeest of Wafels & Dinges saw a huge opportunity to sell traditional style waffles on the streets of New York.

The Unexpected Market – The lucrative market was in Bar & Bat Mitzvahs.  Kids love waffles and adults love the feeling of nostalgia.

SUV Driving Soccer Mom Revolution

The Plan – BreeAnna Clowdus of Tiny Revolutionary had and obvious market for their high-end graphic tee’s – left-wing, ultra crunchy moms and dads.

The Unexpected Market - Turns out, the prices were a little too high for most of target folks and the key market turned out to be middle of the road, SUV driving soccer moms who don’t really have time to be involved politically but see the clothing line as a community affiliation and a philanthropic action in and of itself.

Bells For The Blind

The Plan – Jill of Bumble Bells makes or audible anklewear for the newest of human beings.  They are sterling silver baby anklets with bells to hear where baby moves.  It’s a cute and effective for every Mom and Dad to know where the baby is now.

The Unexpected Market -  Being a blind parent has added challenges.  Since it’s introduction, Bumble Brand has been approached by multiple organization servicing blind parents to get the product in their hands.

From Airports To Schools

The Plan – Michelle Warford launch UBrand to help confused travels quickly identify their luggage at airport baggage carousels with these colorful, easy to see self-stick 3-D labels.

The Unexpected Market -  Kids love to decorate their backpacks and are not the biggest consumer market for UBrand.   So much so that Michelle now is focusing on having her products as part of school fundraisers.

Did We Lose Grandma?

The Plan – Mabel’s Labels’ Vice President, Tricia Mumby, started her company with the intention of making labels for the stuff that kids lose.  Things like clothing tags, shoe labels, and labels that could be put on plates and withstand the dishwasher and microwave.

The Unexpected Market – Senior citizen assisted living facilities face the same problems. Personal items often get mixed up with other and lost.  Not anymore, thanks to Mabel’s Labels.

Is That George Washington… At The Merck Meeting?

The Plan – Dick Cheatham, founder of Living History Associates, Ltd. originally thought his service, professional presentations and speeches by historians portraying actual historical characters, would appeal to schools, museums and libraries.

The Unexpected Market – In fact, Living History is in demand for corporate meetings and events, leadership seminars, and national conferences.  The reason is that Living History is really providing (despite the packaging) classic lessons on leadership, team building, conflict resolution, and looking outside the box.

Big Money In Women Roller Derbies!

The Plan – Lauren Trad Teton of Flexmeters www.Flexmeters.com created a a sports wrist guard designed specifically to prevent common snowboard wrist injuries.

The Unexpected Market-  It looks like more than just snowboarders are needing to protect from write injuries – Scooter riders to women who skate roller derby (its on a huge comeback) are picking up the product left and right.

Raise $1M, Have Brad Pitt Sign His Underwear.

The Plan – Jordan McAuley started his online service, ContactAnyCelebrity.com, for fans who wanted to send fan mail to celebrities for autographs.

The Unexpected – Nonprofits would get a few volunteers to write celebrities asking for signed memorabilia. They’d get some really cool stuff back in the mail (Dolly Parton sent a wig, Oprah sent a pair of signed jeans, Melissa Etheridge sent a signed guitar) and hold a celebrity autograph auction, raising thousands of dollars for their cause.

Fall Asleep Under The Stars

The Plan – Jeff Stewart, President of Night Sky Murals went into business with the idea that luminary ceilings would be for kid’s rooms.

The Unexpected – Adults love having ultra realistic stars in the sky as they fall asleep in their Master Bedrooms or watch a movie in their Home Theater.

By Mike Michalowicz, Author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

Subscribe to Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Blog! Just click on this, confirm you are a living human, and we’ll email you every time we have a new post (but will NEVER spam you).

Tags: entreperneur, Focus, plan b, unexpected markets

Managing Focus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.