It’s really easy for anyone to complain about the marketplace and economy right now. Almost every field, niche, and market seems to be going downhill. Profits in many areas seem to be more from some outside “stimulus” or just scaling back (which is, I admit, a good idea).

But what makes a winner in an economy where so many people are loosing? What do Sherry and I really look for in clients? What keys are almost guaranteed survival in tough times like this? There is a criteria of things we look for. The list is small and simple.

Growth in an unsaturated market. Why did Obama have such a hard on for health care? America has a growing abundance of sick people, and people come to America every day to pay for health care and coverage. Growth in a field may be limited or temporary, but that’s ok a long as those limitations are considered in the business plan.

Let’s look at energy drinks. Red Bull targeted anyone who wanted a boost, like club kids, gamers, cab and truck drivers. They started small, and anticipated growth in many different directions, knowing there was a lot of room for growth. They’re still doing well, but are now working very hard to stay on top of a very saturated market. Red Bull now has to take into account things like price, taste, and variety. To start new and cut into this market is pretty tough.

Two great examples for growth and low saturation are 3D entertainment and electric cigarettes. 3D has kicked around for decades, but it took the movie Avatar to really rally the consumer as to whether this would be something they’d want in their living room. The technology that’s followed is starting small, but if they dig in there, they may just be able to make 3D entertainment in every household a reality by 2020. Electric cigarettes are also really attracting attention. Blu Cigarettes have had trouble keeping up with demand. We are starting to see some more serious saturation. The e-smoke is still finding a place, but I honestly don’t think it will be long before you’ll be seeing Camel e-smokes at a 7-11 near you.

Enthusiastic owner who is a jack of all trades. Before bringing in a webmaster, Ron Harris did his own processing, design, and web building. He’s also very enthusiastic about what he does. If it didn’t make money, Harris would still be shooting pictures and video of very pretty women.

Michael Ninn’s story is very similar. Ninn does editing, directing, and producing. Being willing to do more things allows you to innovate. These very creative people bring us in as publicists not because they don’t know how to do publicity, but because we save them time and allow them to expand what they’re doing.

Likewise, Sherry and I have ventured into territory other publicists fear to tread. We created the first adult alternative reality game. We do a lot of our own work in Photoshop and even created a campaign in flash.

Enthusiasm is one of the most motivating factors. I’ve known people who will do what they do until they drop dead and nothing else will stop them. This involves much more than someone shouting how great their product is. This enthusiasm involves listening to the advice given, going to trade shows, doing interviews, and springing out of bed every morning eager to do what you do. It means investing profits back into the business and biting the bullet to scale down when times are tough. It also means bringing in people that are just as enthusiastic about what you do as you are. Would you starve for a day to do what you do? Would you move to a smaller house just make a better product? That unbridled enthusiasm has allowed insane fanatics in niche fields to survive and even thrive where even big mainstream companies just can’t cut it.

Constantly improving, innovating, and doing new things. When we talk to reporters, they rarely want to talk about what’s old. Most of the time they want to talk about what’s new, better, different, interesting, and will change the way they think about a product or service. The biggest problem for the adult industry is the simple fact that the majority does not want to adapt and change. Video and DVD sales gave way to the internet, which means a whole new way of doing business. That revenue stream should have been the most exciting thing for a pornographer, and for the smart ones, it was. Sure, there are a lot of failures, but small failures make for big lessons. People rant about the success of the iPhone, but few remember the painful lessons of the Newton, Apple’s palmtop computer. Sometimes, simple improvements make for the biggest profits down the road.

Sam Adams is a great example. If Jim Koch could only sell one type of beer, he probably would grit his teeth and do it. He wouldn’t look to change the style or the recipe, but he would always be on the lookout for better ingredients. Notice recently, he hasn’t settled for making the best beer. Instead, he’s pioneered a new design for a glass to pour Sam Adams in. That’s pretty extreme, but it shows that if you’ve reached your best in one area, there may be room for improvement in others areas for your product.

That’s pretty much it. Being big does not help. Quite the contrary, the biggest with the most money often make the bigger (and sometimes fatal) mistakes. Being smart does help, but often it is a factor in enthusiasm, multi-tasking and innovation. We can talk all day about marketing, SEO, and bunches of other hot topics and jargon, but these simple factors above are what makes a winner.