Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 19, 2001, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press june 2001 b3 editor Julian Rachey 6977235 technology today the Power of the Niche Market markets for products like books and cd Are saturated with compete All trying to com Pete on Small startups Are unlikely to compete with giants like Sears says it is disbanding the shopping function at the site because of poor Quirky Niche markets and specially products Are ideally suited for fledgling e Commerce spot an Nur Ture that Market Seg ment and develop relationships with suppliers and partners that can make the business a niches dont refer just to niches can be based on cultural or language whatever your interest or chances Are there is an Commerce site or Selling items related to your heres a Small sampling of Commerce Sites for specially markets this is an online store for women who Wear narrow a woman in Texas with a Devotion to quilts of american and traditional Amish designs Sells quilts from her gallery of finished creations and takes custom this site is owned not by a Small entre pre but by it is a exam ple of an entire site devoted to a specific Type of product not just any but Green Argyle socks an australian woman Sells Argyle socks for Highland dancers and bands As Well As secondhand this is an online Community for collectors of eight track the site itself Doest sell the 70s but does feature a Buyan sell Section of ads for crazed collect finding thinking Small can pay off big in world of Commerce while bloated Dot coms were crashing and big retailers were trying to please everyone the Commerce Niche Market was quietly finding its place in the just ask Carrie who runs ice cube an online Middle Eastern dance supplies out of her suburban Winnipeg not Long Hiebert thought the family computer was an expensive the kids played games her husband tinkered with then came stirred by a trip to Hiebert developed a business from belly dancing and used the internet to do i even turn on the computer two years Hiebert anyone who knows me who hears i have an Commerce business howls with a specially combined with a Good business plan and an ability to deliver on can make for a Success said Rick an internet author and con i found there Are All kinds of stories of companies that have been Able to establish com Merce in a Niche Broadhead said from his Toronto area it makes perfect its a mar Ket that rather unique and its perfectly suited to the a former xray technician and mom to two aged nine and Hiebert likes the she can work on her web site or answer e mails at 3 if she but ice cube imports happened almost by almost two years Hiebert and her a management had tired of Winter Beach holidays and made plans for in who had been taking belly dancing classes in win was captivated by the array of garments and belly dancers even paying inflated tourist it was still cheaper than what i was used she referring to Exchange and duties she was paying on goods ordered from the she brought Back what she sharing her Bounty with fellow belly dancers at they loved the souvenirs and were interested in it occurred to Hiebert that she might have a business via she established Contact with her first and from Learned of she also found online information from the Canadian government about starting a Small business and its All been done by she i Haven left her husband gave her a crash com Puter and she Learned to build her own web Canada Post hosts the giving Hieberto customers a Range of shipping when dealing with manufacturers in the Middle she Seldom reveals she is a she gets mail and packages addressed to a lot of companies wont Deal with a she or they wont Deal with Small Hieberto company is but through negotiation and email ban she has found suppliers with which to place her the inter net has helped erase barriers of Gen culture and time Hiebert said that through email she is learning about the old world Way in which companies in India and Thailand do Shes also Learned to be patient what she orders int always what she its like i open it up and Deal with what i Hiebert and what i did get was gorgeous and beautifully Hieberto fledgling company shipped More than 600 orders last this Shes sent orders As far afield As Hong Albuquerque and the exciting to that the most exciting thing about Commerce that Type of Broadhead that someone sets up a company and a web site and does business internal in real life and on the net savvy dance enthusiasts who have met or bought from Hiebert often include a link to on their own dance Hiebert also advertises on other Sites and in she attends dance bringing along Hiebert is also planning to bring to Winnipeg a prominent instructor for a breast can cer fundraiser next proceeds will go to Winnipeg breast cancer Centre of she has tapped into a passionate worldwide collective of one dance list she subscribes to has her filing Cabinet is loaded with scraps of fabric and bits of sent to her by customers who want her to watch for an accessory to match the its a tight Hiebert everybody knows that the key with serving a Niche said who has a Niche interest of his own get the word be involved in the Community and Hope word of Mouth the internet is one big but its comprised of thousands of Small Broadhead for every imaginable there Are web Sites and if you get in touch with those Asso Broadhead youll find the Market is much bigger than you initially if Hiebert were to run her business As a traditional she Likely would it make for one the local Market is Only so for running a Brickman mortar store with a catalogue would present a much larger overhead than her base ment its not a perfect from her Winnipeg Hiebert cant take in the sights and sounds of the markets and shops Halfway around the she Doest sit Down Over Strong Tea to barter and social ize with it be More fun of shop in id rather be in she said Wist but until i can do it on Phil Thomaw Winnikow Ohk pm Carrie Hiebert runs ice cube an online Middle Eastern dance supplies from a basement office in her suburban Winnipeg High Speed net service our new National dream by Jim Brown Ottawa a Blu ribbon task Force says it could Cost anywhere from billion to billion to fulfil the new National dream of bringing High Speed internet service to every Community in the but it was As the panel tabled its report exactly How the Cost would be shared among the Federal gov the municipalities and private also sure to generate heated debate were recommendations to review for eign investment rules and perhaps ease other Federal regulatory measures to ensure private sector participation in the Industry minister Brian who commissioned the report in likened the plan for Canad wide Broad band internet service to the building of a National rail network in the 19th Cen weve got to wire this country coast to coast to coast and give every citizen an Opportunity to participate in the dig ital said broadband is the transcontinental railway of the new Mil the Federal in last Falls elec Tion promised to work toward a Public private partnership to bring every town and Village on line by Tobin admitted the current financial turmoil in the High tech Industry will make it harder to meet that deadline but insisted the government is not backing away from its David chairman of the task Force and president of the University of said Cost estimates Are mod est compared with other infrastructure spending like Highway but the Price tag could vary depend ing on the nature of service and Type of Johnston estimated the Public sector provincial and municipal contributions As Well As the Federal Likely be about billion of the total billion for an Ini tial Basic that would ensure High Speed links to some with an emphasis on Rural and Remote towns and Vil Lages and aboriginal the first priority would be service to health schools and other Public Canadian ;