Opportunities Under Your Nose

By John Malmo

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkno/local-wkno-953610.mp3

Opportunities Under Your Nose, by John Malmo

Memphis, TN – Don't you love it when somebody takes a centuries-old product, identifies a new opportunity, and turns it into a successful business?

Few products are older than a cane. A walking stick. Surely, cave men used their spears as canes after spraining an ankle chasing pterodactyls. Well, three young women from New York decided to make some of the so-called aids-for-daily-living look more like they belong in a home, and less like hospital equipment.

I'm talking canes, walkers, bathtub seats, and other items that make life more liveable for the elderly. Their mission is to add fashion. Their first product is a cane that comes in six colors and sells for $136. The handle is a handsome crook, kind of like a shepherd's staff (as in: Thy rod and Thy staff). The handle is handsome, polished hardwood, much like a hockey stick, and the straight part is painted everything from white to purple. They're sold in select retail outlets and online.

The trio has forecast sale3s this year between $2 and $3 million. They identify the market as care-givers, fashion-savvy women between forty and sixty-five.

Opportunity is everywhere. But you have to have the nerve to do something about it.

John Malmo is a marketing consultant who concentrates on helping business owners grow their businesses with effective marketing. To reach Mr. Malmo, hear and read more of his commentaries, or ask him a direct question, go to askmalmo.com.