You don’t have to go far in the world of business advice before you come across this gem:
Niche your business.
The idea being this: be specific about who you help and the transformation you provide with your services. This makes it easier for you to stand out from the crowd and for potential clients to recognize you.
And it really is quality advice. Except…
Like all advice and business guidance, it isn’t one-size-fits all. There are exceptions.
My advice for you – fully aware of the irony in my giving it – is to first and foremost follow what you know to do.
Yes, listen to and learn from your business mentors and advisors. Take the courses.
But don’t let what they say override what you know to be true for you. From that still place within, you know what’s yours to do, and it’s better than any expert advice.
Bearing that in mind, let’s talk about niching, what it’s good for and what it’s not.
Here some times when it’s a good idea NOT to niche your business:
You’re in the first two years of your business. You probably don’t know exactly who you want to serve and how you want to serve them. It’s supposed to be that way! You’re just starting out.
Choosing a niche now can be done, and please do it if you want to, but it’s likely to be misaligned with what you actually want.
Now is the time to experiment, try a bunch of things, and see what happens. Clarity about what you’re doing will emerge as you go.
You honestly just don’t want to. If you don’t want to target a specific niche, then don’t. You can completely forget about it, follow your desires, and see what happens. (I’ll provide some ideas for what to do instead in a minute.)
Now, let’s say you authentically want to niche your business.
Here are some guidelines for choosing a niche that serves your purposes and feels great.
Start with the people you actually love being around. Not the ones already in your network or the ones you can “realistically” attract – the people you actually like.
If you plan to be in business for a while, you’ll be spending a lot of time with these people. Choose a community you enjoy being in.
Create products and services you enjoy delivering. This sounds obvious, but apparently, it isn’t. Plenty of entrepreneurs design a whole suite of offerings…and then hope that no one buys them because the thought of doing the work fills them with dread.
Make sure that whatever transformational journey you focus your niche on is one you’re thrilled to be a part of. And price it in a way that delights you.
Be yourself in your business. Speak the way you speak. Do what you love to do. Express yourself naturally.
Being you naturally attracts people who like you, and repels those who don’t. It’s the easy way to find your tribe and “accidentally” niche your business. Bonus: there’s no strategy or artifice required.
If you have many, many things you’d love to do, let your niche be: YOU. This may be perfect for multipotentialites and people with ADHD or autism.
These people are called to temporary obsessions where they go deep into a topic – only to discard it after a few months to move onto something new. Or they have several passionate interests they engage with seasonally.
Why not embrace this and make YOU the umbrella for your business?
You immediately become one-of-a-kind (how many people offer Akashic Records readings, hiking adventures, photography, yarn-dying and yoga all at once?) and you can indulge your varied interests because it’s your job.
This can be done as a lifestyle business or by creating an umbrella with various niched offerings underneath it.
Try out a niche. Change it later if you want.
Entrepreneurs don’t struggle with niching because they don’t have any idea what they want to do; it’s because they think they need to get it right.
Choose wrong, and it seems you’ll be stuck with a niche you hate forever.
Well, that’s simply not true. You can change your mind (and your niche) whenever you like and as many times as you like.
Of course, there are consequences to changing the direction of your ship, but they needn’t be as painful as you’ve probably made them up to be.
If you’re not sure, but you have an inkling of a niche you’d like to serve, take it on a date first. Create some offers, make some invitations, serve some clients. Notice what it’s like before committing with a brand and website redesign. You’ll find your way as you go.
Hopefully, you get the idea of how spacious and supporting niching your business (or choosing not to) can actually be.
This is what it feels like to be guided by your deeper knowing, instead of getting jerked around by fearful thinking and expert advice.
Because you know, deep down, what you want and what’s yours to do.
And if you don’t know (yet) the place to look isn’t in your noisy mind. Simply wait and the movement of life will find you before long.
This month in the IMPACT membership our focus is to Play and Get Paid.
If the idea of enjoying yourself, getting paid to do things you love, and making a positive impact on the lives of others appeals to you, you’ll feel right at home with us.
https://www.theawakenedbusiness.com/impactinvite/
Yours in love and play,
Steph
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