Dancing Under the Feet of Dinosaurs

Anita Campbell at Small Business Trends has a post on a Business Week article about the recent growth of small retailers. Part of this trend relates to the growth in niche businesses succeeding on the Internet.
“That may seem to go against the grain of the ‘experience shoppers.’ But not really, when you think about it. Good Internet sites tend to offer a much larger selection. And the convenience of shopping from your PC without having to fight the crowds sounds downright inviting.”
But, part of this trend can also be traced to the consistent trend we see in many industries during times of consolidation and market concentration. When huge companies build market share, the little niche markets get ignored. That can create opportunities in what seems like impossible markets. I blogged about this recently about the banking industry. In retailing the myth is that Wal-Mart makes retail start-ups doomed. This is just not true.
Small businesses can find wonderfully productive niches by learning how be like the early mammals and dance under the feet of dinosaurs.