For young entrepreneurs keeping your eye on the market is extremely important. There�s nothing worse than pitching, what you think is an awesome idea, only to find out someone else has already been there, done that – let�s just hope you find that out before your prospective client. Despite your greatest research efforts, there will be a time when one will slip through the net, especially if you are pitching numerous ideas covering different industries. On the plus side, even if you do accidentally re-create something it does verify that you are on the right track. That you identified a market need, you were just a little late in executing it.

I did it myself not so long ago having pitched a book called, �50 Jobs that Suck Worse Than Yours� with spin offs including �50 Dinners that Suck Worse Than Yours�, �50 Dates that Suck Worse Than Yours� ect. The publisher who I pitched it to (in Australia) wasn�t sure that it would work. I was sure there would be a market for it and did the subsequent research to back it up. You can imagine my alarm when I walked into an art�s supplies shop in Manhattan two weeks later and stumbled upon �50 Dates Worse Than Yours� and the subsequent series of 50 of�s�..

I honestly had never seen the books. Not even subconsciously in a catalogue. Now, there was nothing to stop me from pitching �49 Jobs that Suck Worse Than Yours� or a subsequent series. The titles were slightly different and the content would have had a different flavor. But personally, I didn�t find it particularly ethical. If we had gone ahead and already published the books that would have been a different story but now that I knew I couldn�t go ahead in good faith.

Needless to say, I revoked the proposal but was happy that I was on the right track. Knowing your market is imperative. Walking around shops, checking out new products should be as much a part of your weekly schedule as sending emails and answering the phone.