The SL Economy and Finding a Niche

Hello All,

I am a relatively new player in SL and have only been online for about a week (at the time of this posting) so excuse me if my questions are ill founded or somewhat retarded.

I am interested in not only exploring and creating but also finding a niche to actually generate a cash flow to help further my interests and lifestyle.

Having said that I have looked at tons of different businesses and have a fair bit of cash to start or purchase an existing business (or even join a partnership).

I am currently a partner in a theme park over in Honeoye called Club Carpathia but I suspect that my minor share in the place will not bring me huge riches.

I have brainstormed about vehicle dealerships, vending machines, renting land, speculating on land, even developing my own creations, but I feel that most of these are already at saturation point and entering the market would prove disasterous.

What do all of you think about the economy in SL and the options available to generating revenue streams? And specifically is anyone interested in partnerring with me in an endeavour? I would be willing to do almost anything to start up with someone (wink) and my name says it all!

Thanks and sorry if this is a lame post - I am still learning the ways of SL and sometimes say the wrong thing!

Sir SnazzyMcBugBearRidiculous Palmerstone

My advice would be to give yourself some time and don't feel pressured to find your niche right away. Often it's a matter of stumbling into it. I don't recommend land speculation as it's something that carries a bit of a stigma with it. Probably the best avenue to success (though most difficult) is to innovate. Show us something we've never seen before. Most importantly, have fun! Think of SL as a place to have fun and meet great people first, and as an opportunity to make money second (or fifteenth!). You'll enjoy yourself a lot more that way. Good luck and welcome to SL.

You'll know you've truly 'made it' when someone takes your idea and makes a knockoff, for sale all over. However, just try to do fun things in the meantime. It isn't all about L$ really. Though sometimes it can feel that way.

When I first flew around SL in weeks early I thought ' how can EVERYONE be a first class architect?' and it made me feel quite small...

Later aftre going to build class and achieving a landmark of making a single 1 prim red pole ( ha!) I sat down to think what I could do... I looked for things I liked or had knowledge of in 1L.. I am japanese, I have access to see copy and scan japanese things, patterns, textures places and items, and i know the language and culture so i brought more Japan to SL. Look at your 1L, and ask yourself maybe what cab you do, that you are already knowing about, like and have fun with....

and yes its not all about L$.. tho it helps... I have probbaly given away more l$ than I have kept.. but I am still challenged by the thrill of making things and places and seeing people like them

Welcome to SL, Snazzy. : ) It's not a lame post at all -- you're asking a question pondered by many older players too.

My advice is to frequent the sandboxes, and see the fun things people are developing, some of which are intended to be products. If you see one of my towers there, it could be for my current client, or another crazy experiment. : )

Don't worry about immediate business success. You've got time to try different endeavors, and learn from each. I agree with Chip about avoiding land speculation. The real fun in SL happens when you can make a creative contribution.

Put two or more creative people together on a project, and the fun gets even better. See the attached images showing the midway point in a fun project. As the architect for this mansion I was able to work with a great texture expert who made the client's personal vision come alive by applying opulent marbles etc. to my precisely designed 3D forms. SL is perfect for collaborative work like this. Good luck!

If you build something you're interested in or have fun with, and do it well, people will buy copies of it. You aren't going to like making things that you don't love.

I didn't come into SL with the goal of having an in-world business. I just made mecha suits because I think they're fun. People like them and buy them.

If you build it, they will come.

Traxx, that is an amazing building! I like to get out an explore once in awhile but I have not seen that before. Its beautiful!

Again welcome to SL! (We met last night.) I wouldn't know what sort of advice to give you, I'm not in it for the $L *shrugs* I do what I do for the fun and friendship

I do wish you the best of luck! Let me know if you have any building type questions, I'd be glad to help!

Hi Snazzy!

I started SL about a month ago and I'm drawn towards building. I started building some '50s cars in the Morris sandbox just because it was fun, I really enjoyed it. Othersseem to like my work and I've had numerous offers for them. The point is I just stumbled on this because I wanted to create some '50s cars or anything retro for that matter. But that's just me. If I were you I would (as mentioned above) hit the sandboxes and start making stuff you think is fun. It's a win-win situation for you even if no one else likes it, you do and you get enjoyment from it. And if others do like what you create then you can work on selling your product. It all starts with you ENJOYING yourself in SL.

Welcome to SL by the way! Happy building!

MAKE STUFF! Stuff you can rez and play with, not stuff that just sits there. Little things that attach to your avatar and make you do something cute. Anything fun or funny. This is a part of the market that is so underserviced I wonder what people are thinkin' sometimes.

Make anything. Copy stuff from TSO. People will buy it, I promise. You just have to care enough to do a good job.

Here's one to start with.... Make a fishtank. There are fishtanks all over the place, but make yours so you can feed the fish. I haven't seen a single one that lets you do that. How did all those fishtank people miss that?

Thats why my fish died