Most new entrepreneurs I talk to struggle with deciding on their niche.
This group gets how important it is to ‘niche down’, be specific on their ideal client profile etc. but yet have little guidance on how to pick one.
Or they receive all the guidance but don’t take the action! Whole other blog post ????
However…
If you are in the midst of deciding what’s your profitable niche, these 9 questions will help you gain some clarity and take massive action.
Question 1: What personal tragedies or life changing events have determined the course of your life’s work?
These can be negative or positive or both.
Our experiences however they may be can be the catalysts in the work we feel called today. Don’t discount them!
Make a list of your life events that have led you to do the work you do today.
Question 2: Are you a part of a community that you are actively engaged in and know that you can help?
So for example, if you are a parent coach and are active in a community of parents with dyslexic children who have social challenges then you can probably help them with your knowledge and experience.
What communities are you an active member of?
One thing to remember is that you must contribute and add value when you become a member.
Last thing you want to do is ‘hunt’ for clients.
Strive to build relationships, win people’s trust and be generous with your time.
Question 3: Are you doing work that is particularly relevant to a certain phase/life cycle/journey in people’s lives?
If it is then that can become a central niche of your business.
For example as a divorce coach or a life coach you help divorced women transition into their new single status and start dating.
Question 4: Can you niche through your profession and industry?
If you’ve had a professional background or come from a certain industry such as accounting or dentistry then maybe you can use your experiences to serve this population.
As a therapist you may want to become the go-to expert for teaching other therapists how to market their practices.
Question 5: Is there a particular hobby or a lifestyle that you enjoy and attract people with ease?
Are you a food enthusiast and advocate a vegan lifestyle?
Are you a lover of all things vintage with a particular affinity for motorcycle gear from the 60s?
You can use your hobbies to start a movement and attract your tribe!
Question 6: Do you have a skill or specialized training?
Do you like making videos?
Do enjoy creating FB ads?
The more skills and experience you can bring to the proverbial table is when clients come out of the woodwork to work with you.
Question 7: Who is underserved?
Is there a population within the population that you are already working with or a completely untapped market (that is willing to buy from you) but doesn’t know you?
Time to make yourself known ????
I’d like to use my story to illustrate this point.
When I was looking for my ideal clients I repeatedly found many Facebook groups that would cater to women who’d want to leave their corporate jobs and start their own business.
But I completely neglected the women who were established entrepreneurs and wanted to start a second business.
Just like me. That’s the market I wanted to tap into because I was one of them.
So dig deep into your professional network.
Is there a subset population that you can serve with your skills?
Question 8: Have you 80/20’d your list?
Pareto’s Law states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.
In business; 80% of our income comes from 20% of our clients.
And because your business is constantly evolving take a look at your list of clients and see if you can hone in on what they have achieved working with you and take it up a notch.
For instance if you’re a business coach and you’ve worked with newbies for 6 months, you may want to reevaluate your offerings because in those 6 months you’ve probably taken on more training and deepened your skills.
You are now ready to serve a different population more in alignment with what you are learning.
Probably an advanced group of entrepreneurs instead of the newbies.
So who’s your 20% of the population that you can serve?
Take massive action
Remember the key to a successful niche is to go beyond ‘thinking mode’ and taking action.
Unless you don’t implement you don’t know what works.
Don’t worry about getting it perfect.
Just start with one niche and stick with it for at least 90 days before you change or course correct.
You may have to try multiple things before you find something that you like and get well paid for.
Conclusion
“The riches are in the niches”
This statement rings true in any industry. The more ‘niched down’ you are, the better it is for your business.
Most new entrepreneurs get stuck in a niche overwhelm trying to decide their profitable niche.
However the problem is that they’re entrenched in the thinking versus the doing.
It’s only after you take action, get your hands dirty and work with a client or two can you make the decision to stick with it or drop it.
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
How did you select your niche when you started?
