Category: Owning a Niche

All Niches Are Not Created Equal

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20 COMMENTS

(Listen to this post, here.) Statistically speaking, it’s due to arrive in my inbox any day now.  The “it” I am referring to is the more or less, once a year request that I receive from a parade of strangers who share my name.  The email usually goes something like this:  “Hi, my name is Michael Katz too and I see you own michaelkatz.com. Would you consider selling it?” I’ve owned that domain since 1999 and my answer to these inquiries is always a polite, “Sorry, but no thanks.” As […] Click to read more…

Food For Thought

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(Listen to this post, here.) I’m no scientist, but when it comes to the relative temperature of various foods, I am happy to share the following facts: #1. Oatmeal is the hottest consumable substance on earth. If your castle walls are in the process of being scaled by hordes of blood-thirsty enemies, this is the (food)stuff to pour on them. #2. Nothing heats up faster in the microwave than quinoa. Five seconds on “high” and these once benign pellets will melt the roof of your mouth like nobody’s business. #3. Pancakes retain heat the longest. Go back to the […] Click to read more…

Rocky Mountain Low

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21 COMMENTS

(Listen to this post, here.) Quick: What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Colorado?  If you said, “mountains” or “sunshine” or “legal weed,” I’m going to give you full credit. For me, unfortunately, and up until just last week, the answer would have been, “unbelievably long lines at the Advantage car rental office.”  That’s because one year ago, when my wife Linda and I landed at Denver airport en route to dropping off our son Jonathan for his freshman year at the University of Denver, that’s […] Click to read more…

Is Your Cart Before Your Horse?

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6 COMMENTS

(Listen to this post, here.) It turns out that I’ve been lying to you.  Well, okay, maybe not exactly lying. Let’s call it oversimplifying. For a long time now (years), I’ve been talking about the importance of simply stating what you do when you meet somebody new. Small firms and solos like us live in a Word of Mouth world; we don’t spend money on advertising or promotion. Everything is referral-based. So if you want people to understand and remember you – let alone, refer you to others – you have to figure out […] Click to read more…

Does Your Difference Make a Difference?

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23 COMMENTS

(Listen to this post, here.) There’s a bank not far from my office with a very simple tagline: America’s Most Convenient Bank.  I don’t know on what basis they have earned that distinction, but if it’s a function of the number of hours they are open each week, I’d have to agree. The one near me, for example, is open 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM during the week (7:00 PM on Fridays), as well as five hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday. (I’m not even sure I’m awake that much.) Holidays […] Click to read more…