Wanted: Fresh Names

Niche Ideas

For Don Devine, co-partner of Lighthouse Depot catalog, the top challenge is finding new prospects in a niche market. The catalog sells lighthouse-themed merchandise as well as educational information on lighthouse history and preservation efforts.

Until 1993, Lighthouse Depot was just a store in Wells, ME, run by lighthouse enthusiasts Kathy Finnegan and Tim Harrison. The pair also published a magazine called Lighthouse Digest. When Devine helped Finnegan and Harrison launch a mail-order catalog, the business already had a pool of names on which to draw—Digest subscribers and retail customers. Additionally, bind-in cards placed within the magazine help generate names of catalog prospects.