Did you ever wonder where the slinky, or the wacky-clackers, or the hoola hoop came from? Some ingenious novice had a crazy idea that all his buddies, his family, and his former teachers told him was just a really stupid idea but he ran with it. He took his idea and kept presenting it to someone else until some special someone saw an opportunity. Where there was none; he created a market for a new toy.

Any concept can fill a niche market if the need is created. The hoola hoop designer began promoting his round hoop as a weight loss option. Children found it fun and a great weight loss option became a toy. Not just any toy, but a craze that swept the continent with a market so grand that every child recognized the newly coined term Hoola Hoop.

A new idea, a concept, a precept created with a specific product in mind erupts with power when a niche market is found. A niche market presumes a paradigm, relational to something within the focus of a specific group of people expanding to broaden and envelop a market of consumers. If the idea includes a catchy title, a coined phrase, keywords, or a specific dynamic the consumer can grasp and share easily, the niche market is born.

The creator of the product is recognized as a Guru, and his product becomes the talk of the planet. On the internet, where a new product can be imagined today and sprung onto the open market half a planet away tomorrow, a novice can become a guru overnight. Time is no longer an issue. What the mind can conceive, the market can sell.

What awesome and exciting phrases can you invent? What kind of market can you create? How much can you make by morning?

The concept is open. The opportunity is real. Create an idea, coin a phrase, locate a niche market, and become a guru.

Jan Verhoeff

Somewhere between college and life, Jan began to focus on other people. Her intense need to feel accomplishment in her life drove her to finding a deeper contentment than just existing in the hoot 'n holler of southeastern Colorado. While the beauty of the prairie never escaped her eye for color and beauty, the intensity of her desire kept her moving ever onward.

Summers in Michigan and Tennessee brought her closer to something, but it wasn't until much later, as an adult, mother of four that she began to understand that her need for accomplishment included sharing what she had learned along the way. It also meant that her talent for painting the dream and writing her thoughts had a lot to do with her accomplishments.

She began to focus on actually writing down her thoughts and ideas in journals, revealing her prayer thoughts and life events. Bits of paper became treasures of memory, and a notebook became an outlet of hope and a step of faith. Jan put her thoughts on paper, and began to publish them, where she found opportunity, including various magazines, trade journals, and local publications. Her interests in business and new enterprise became a resounding outlet for her talent, and wisdom for those who sought it. Jan's interest in business development became her trademark, resulting in her first book publication in !992, "Building a Business: From Scratch". This 22 page booklet was published by a local printer in a vertical brochure format, selling more than a thousand copies nation wide. It has resurfaced in college classes as the basis for college term papers, graduate thesis, and research documents for small business courses over the past 13 years.

Seeking more diverse outlets for her talents, Jan most recently has written several short stories published in various books, including: "Stories for the Trail" with the Lamar Writer's Group, "Prickly Points of Life" a combination poetry/short story collection of Jan's work, and "Coffee Clatter" a bound collection of written works originally published in a newsletter published by her daughter, Brenna, as a Sophomore Year Project when she was homeschooling at Buchanan Academy.

More recently her work is available in a newsletter she publishes weekly via email, and various blogs listed on the right side of this page.

You may contact Jan at: janverhoeff@yahoo.com