There is a great article in the New York Times about specialty shoe stores and how things are beginning to change in the marketplace.

While I have said before that the newspaper takes the most pessimistic approach to sell the newspaper it does have some important things to keep in mind.

First of all, even though you have a niche now and you are staying ahead of the competition, you cannot become complacent. Your competition will adapt and soon there will be more competition. You must strive to constantly be staying ahead of the competition which requires keeping an eye on the competitors and constantly evolving. A business that is not evolving constantly is dying.

Second, make sure you have a succession plan in mind. Even if you do not plan to retire for many years, keep in mind you have to be ready no matter what. A friend of mine's father and uncle's owned a major RV dealer. They had no succession plan in place because they were not going to retire for years. Tragically all of them were killed in a plane crash leaving the children fighting it out for control. So remember, have a succession plan in mind today, just in case.

The competition is always advancing and you must too. You must also have a plan of succession for the worst case scenario or the day actually comes for you to hang it up and go fishing.