You need to find your own unique niche

My friend, Kapil Wadhwa of Delhi's Champion Computers, turned 40 last
August. Though he is a week younger to me, he actually looks a couple of years
elder. That's because he has put on a lot of weight and has also started
graying at a much faster pace than me.

All that was fine till last month as his business was ramping up at a fast
pace. He had signed up quite a few alliances in calendar 2006. But now he is
extremely worried and is looking out for advice. As a result, you are sure to
find him on MSN 24 hours a day on the lookout for business opportunities.

Asim Raina Editor

Now that is quite surprising as the Indian economy is booming. The latest
government estimates indicate that the GDP growth is likely to be in the region
of 9.2 percent. The IT story is even better. MAIT estimates say that the PC
market grew by 19 percent in the first half of fiscal 2006-07 clocking in sales
of three million units. This number is expected to be 6.5 million in the entire
year.

Not only PCs, the story looks extremely positive across all product segments.
And if you consider only the B and C class towns, then the entire IT market is
booming. SMBs and the home market seem to be major drivers of this great growth
story.

So, considering the above numbers, it is quite ironic that Kapil is worried.
He has no reason to be. Rather, he has to look at these numbers as a huge
opportunity waiting to be tapped. He already has a presence across the North
with a number of offices. All he has to do is to identify the niches that can be
filled by him.

Yes, the right word is 'niche'. That's what every channel partner needs
to be on the look out for. Identify your strengths and see what are the niches
that complement them. Then go ahead and leverage them to get ahead in business.

However, the key thing here is to identify the right niche. That is something
you may or may not be able to do on your own. So what's the way out? Ask
industry experts or better still, read this magazine carefully and you have got
it made. For instance, read this issue's cover story on WiMax and evaluate how
it fits into your scheme of things. I am sure this fits in nicely for Kapil.