ESL Podcast 416 - Finding a Niche in Business
at (someone's) request - doing something because someone asked one to do it
At your request, I am sending you a copy of the McMannon report.
niche - specialty; something that is well adapted for one person who can do it better than other people can
Rishad found his niche in the food preparation business by selling meals to elementary schools.
conventional wisdom - common sense; things that are widely believed by most people
Conventional wisdom says that you shouldn't buy an old house unless you know how to fix things that break.
to diversify - to have a lot of variety; to have many different types of things
Instead of keeping all our money in the bank, we should diversify by buying a home, investing in good companies, and starting a small business.
skill set - the group of things that a person is able to do and is good at doing; a group of skills or knowledge that someone has
The company wants to hire someone with an impressive skill set that includes using many computer programs and speaking English, Russian, and Swahili.
half of the picture - not the whole idea; only a partial understanding of something; incomplete information about something
Some people think that expensive gasoline is bad because they can't drive as much as they want to, but that's only half of the picture, since less driving means less air pollution, which is a good thing.
to run the risk of (something) - to do something knowing that there is a possibility that something bad will happen as a result
If we pay for things with our credit card, we run the risk of spending more money than we actually have.
jack of all trades and master of none - a person who is able to do many things a little bit, but who is not specialized or very good at a single thing
Hans is a jack of all trades and master of none. He can use most computer programs for the simplest projects, but he can't do anything more complicated.
indecisive - unable to make a decision
Carmen is so indecisive that it took her almost three weeks to decide which dress to wear for graduation.
from the standpoint of (someone) - from someone's viewpoint; from someone's perspective; considering the way that someone will think about a particular situation
Craig thought that getting a new car was a great idea, but from the standpoint of his parents, it seemed like a very expensive purchase that he didn't really have enough money for.
to fall by the wayside - to stop being important or to stop being used because there are too many other, more important things
Once their baby was born, cleaning the house and cooking nice dinners fell by the wayside because they were too busy taking care of their daughter.
to stand out in the crowd - to be different from other people and to be noticed
Riola has bright pink hair that always makes her stand out in the crowd.
balancing act - when one is trying to do two opposite things at the same time, or trying to please two people with different interests at the same time
Being a good parent is a balancing act between protecting your children and letting them make their own decisions.
the go-to person - the person in an office or organization who seems to know everything and to whom other people go when they need information
Ming has worked at the company for more than 30 years and is the go-to person when employees need to learn about how things were done in the past.
to go far - to succeed; to do well in life
With a good education, a good job, and help from friends and family, you're sure to go far.