Are you just about to jump into a business market that many others are already in, and doing it pretty well? Are you offering a service that many other, more experienced people with large client bases are also offering?

So what to do when you are newbie or late entrant into your market? Give up? No. There's always room for new players, if you do one or both of these things:

- Improve upon the weaknesses of your other competitors
- Have a niche no one else is tapping into

Improve Upon Competitors’ Weaknesses

No business is perfect. Even successful companies such as Apple have their weaknesses. Think about it - one of the largest complaints people make is that the iPhone has a lousy battery life. If another business were to offer everything the iPhone does, plus better battery life, that may well be enough for some customers to switch companies.

Maybe you've just opened a dental surgery, and all the dental surgeries in your area close at 5pm, frustrating those patients who can’t afford to take any time off work. Simply keep your office open till 8pm a few days a week to benefit from this need.

A great way to find out your competitors’ weaknesses is to read what their customers are saying. Go to Google, Yelp, CheckaTrade or wherever is suitable and do your research. Whatever customers or clients dislike about their business, make sure these will be the things people will love about yours.

Find a Niche to Tap Into

The worse thing you can try to do as a business is try to be ALL things to all people- it's not possible. The trick is to find and specialise in a niche as you will create much better success rates. As an example, if you're a new estate agent, finding new clients is always a difficult hurdle. You can target newlyweds or the 'empty nester' looking to downsize, like every other estate agents is, or you can find a niche your colleagues may not have considered, such as the out-of-town or overseas buyer.

Maybe you've decided to tap into the gadget cases for phones and devices market. Most seem to be targeting their designs towards the female market, but why not create cases whose designs specifically target children. Do you know how many young children have a phone and/or iPad these days? In fact, iPad cases for kids is a top Google search because this segment of the market is growing so fast. Don’t be surprised if soon all primary school children have their own phone. Jump on the new and upcoming market segments if you hope to be a leader in your field.