Read this if you're struggling to find your niche

When you get started on a business, side-hustle or blog, you hear the word “niche” thrown about a lot. 

What’s your niche?

Who are you going to target? 

Who is your ideal client?

How's that "niche ideas" list going?

​What do they eat for breakfast… where do they buy their socks… what was the last birthday gift they bought their mother?

(I’m being facetious here, of course. But some of the ‘ideal client’ exercises I read get very specific… almost to the point of being arbitrary.)

The message seems to be:

If you don’t have a very specific, narrow niche, you won’t attract the right people, and you won’t be able to sell your services.

Now, I completely understand that in many instances, niching is incredibly important and helpful.

I am not denying that.  

I’m trained as a life coach, and life coaching is such a broad field that it makes complete sense to narrow your focus:

Will you work with…

• recent empty-nesters… 
• doctors suffering from burnout… 
• or teens who are deciding which career to go into?

Etc., etc.

I’m not 100% against niches, at all.

What I am against is the idea of “have to”.

The idea that you have to have a niche, or you won’t get anywhere. 

Why?

Because this idea originates in a place of fear.

Fear that if you don’t know your niche, you will fail. 

Fear that if you don’t have a niche, no client will be able to find you (or want to work with you).

Fear that if you haven’t figured out your niche, you can’t work on anything else until you do. 

And the thing that frustrates me, as someone who craves freedom, is the belief that there is only one way to do things.

That having a niche is the only way to success. 

Again, don’t get me wrong:

I am not against niches.

But I am against the idea that it’s a “must-have”… an essential.

The one thing you need to get clear on, before anything else.

And here’s why I think that:

1. You need to do the work to discover who you love working with

There’s a general misconception that you need clarity before you start working on anything. 

Now, there is an element of truth in that – but not much.

Here is what is more accurate:

Action creates clarity.

So if you’re sitting around, wondering what your niche should be, hoping it will hit you, you’re missing a crucial step:

You need to get out there and test things out, in order to achieve clarity.

You won’t figure out your niche sitting on the couch - no matter how hard you think  about it.

No matter how many “ideal client” exercises you do.

Instead, you’ll start to narrow down the types of people you want to work with, as you do the work.

• By writing blog posts (for example)… and seeing what articles get the best responses.
• By working with actual clients… and learning who you enjoy working with the most.
• By recording audio clips, or YouTube videos, or podcasts… and discovering which topics create the most conversation or interest you the most. 

Think about it this way...

Imagine a kid in high school who wants to be a doctor. 

Do you want that kid to choose their specialty before they graduate?

Or is it better for them to go through medical school, work in different departments, and then choose their specialty?

I know what makes more sense to me.

I know a lot of people are very ‘pro’ niches.

And that’s fine.

You have to do what’s right for you.

But if you’re getting freaked out by trying to find your niche, and stuck in one place because “you need a niche before you do anything”… 

…relax.

Don’t put your work on hold until you’ve found your niche. 

You could be looking a very long time, and that time could be spent learning, and growing, and testing.

With real, live people!

2. It makes the assumption that we are all the same, and one model will work for all of us.

I love this article by Emilie Wapnick:

Can’t Settle on a Niche for Your Business? Not a Problem

I’d recommend you stop and read it now, if you have a minute.

If you didn’t read it, it basically says that not everyone will fit nicely into a mainstream business model.

Not everyone can – or should – focus on one key idea, and choose that as their niche. 

This was so refreshing to me. 

At last! 

Someone who gets that the generic business model or ideas may not suit all of us.

So if you’re struggling to find your niche, know that:

A. You’re not alone

B. You won’t get there overnight, and you will need to take action for clarity to appear

C. Mainstream business models and ideas don’t always work for everyone.

3. There are options other than finding your niche

This Fizzle article (written by Jeff Goins) is one I love - for obvious reasons:

Why finding your niche is just plain bad advice

Again, if you didn’t read it, it presents the idea of finding people who have the same worldview as you.

Not the people who shop at the same grocery store... or who get up at the same time as you... or who have a very specific number of kids/pets/cars. 

Instead, people who share the same belief as you, or who get frustrated by the same things as you.

Generic? 

Yes.

Takes away the pressure of trying to guess at your ideal client’s shoe size?

Yes :)

And that’s what it’s all about, really – doing work that doesn’t feel too pressured.

That doesn’t cause you more stress and worry... because who needs that?

To sum up…

The idea of finding a niche is not a bad one. 

But the messaging around it seems to be:
 
You must have a niche.

Who said?

Who made up that rule?

Steve Jobs…?!

Hell no – I bet he loved anything that challenged conventional thinking!

You will fail if you don’t have a niche. 

Not necessarily.

It might be harder – granted - but not having one doesn’t guarantee failure.

Lastly, for a bit of fun, I’d like you to read these “niches” I found on the world wide web...

Many people would say that these niches are not defined enough… they’re not clear enough to get clients.

That these people will never make any money, because they haven’t defined their target audience clearly enough.

What do you think?

A. I help writers get their work out into the world.

B. I help people create a business that lets them truly live their ideal lifestyle and chase all the adventure and freedom they could ever want.

C. I share the story of how to change the world by achieving personal goals while helping others at the same time.

D. We hope that by sharing a transparent and honest account of our own journeys to remove barriers – primarily our debt and excess clutter – we can empower and inspire others who find themselves on similar paths.

E. [My site is] …about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness.

F. I write, speak, teach, design, make art, research, philosophize, explore, and tinker… 

At the bottom of the page, you can read what sites these niches are from. 

[Hint: you might be surprised at who wrote them.]

Again, I’m not saying don’t have a niche. 

I’m not saying don’t work towards finding one.

I’m saying relax if you haven’t got it all figured out just yet.

Enjoy the process of discovering your niche (...or not, if you don’t want to!)

Remember that everyone is different, and what works for a lot of people may not work for you. 

Twitter has been incredibly helpful for a number of people’s careers.

Does that mean everyone has to be on it?

No! 

So chill out.

You can still get clients without a niche.

You can still make money without a niche.

It may be easier to market yourself with a niche.

Much easier, maybe.

But it’s not the “big ticket” to making millions of dollars.

And of course, I may change my mind in a few years’ time... who knows!

That’s the beauty of it.

We’re entitled to change our minds.

We’re entitled to do the things that work for us.

So if you want a niche and love the idea of it, go for it.

Niche away!

If it’s causing you stress and anxiety, why not put it on the backburner for now? 

Over to you...

I’d love to know what you think.

Do you have a niche?

Do you want one? 

Have you been told you need one to succeed... or do you believe you’ll never get anywhere without one?

Oh, and here are the answers to the “Niche Pop Quiz” above! 

A. I help writers get their work out into the world.

Jeff Goins:

Writer, keynote speaker, and award-winning blogger. He is the best-selling author of five books, including The Art of Work, which landed on the best­ seller lists of USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, and the Washington Post. He has 88k followers on Medium.


B. I help people create a business that lets them truly live their ideal lifestyle and chase all the adventure and freedom they could ever want.

Natalie Sisson:

Since 2010, she has lived out of her suitcase and traveled the world, all while running an online business that allows her massive freedom and a multiple six-figure income.

C. I share the story of how to change the world by achieving personal goals while helping others at the same time.

Chris Guillebeau:

Chris Guillebeau is the New York Times bestselling author of The $100 Startup and other books. During a lifetime of self-employment, he visited every country in the world (193 in total) before his 35th birthday. Every summer, he hosts the World Domination Summit, a gathering of creative, remarkable people. Chris also hosts Side Hustle School, a popular podcast that is downloaded more than 2 million times a month.

D. We hope that by sharing a transparent and honest account of our own journeys to remove barrier – primarily our debt and excess clutter – we can empower and inspire others who find themselves on similar paths.

Adam Baker at Man Vs. Debt: In 2008, after the birth of his daughter, Adam and his wife decided to sell everything they owned, pay off their consumer debt, and spend a year traveling abroad as a family. They began sharing their journey publicly in early 2009 – forming the community known as Man Vs. Debt.

E. [My site is] …about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness.

Leo Babauta:

Leo Babauta is a simplicity author and creator of Zen Habits, one of the most-read blogs in the world. Zen Habits was named in Time Magazine’s Top 25 Blogs for 2009 and 2010. Leo’s first print book, The Power of Less, reached the Amazon best-seller list on its first day and remains one of the top business motivation books on Amazon.

F. I write, speak, teach, design, make art, research, philosophize, explore, and tinker… 

(Okay, I threw this one in for fun :)

Emilie Wapnick:

Writer, career coach, blogger, and community leader. She is the founder and creative director at Puttylike.com, where she helps multipotentialites (people with many passions and creative pursuits) integrate all of their interests to create dynamic, fulfilling, and fruitful careers and lives. Emilie’s TED talk has been viewed over 4.2 million times, and has been translated into 36 languages. Her book How to Be Everything: A Guide for Those Who (Still) Don’t Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up, was published in May 2017.

I think you know what I'm getting at here.

At first glance, these people don't have specific, clear niches.

But they seem to have done okay without out them.

I think niching is like any business tool out there: SEO... Google analytics... sales funnels... cold calling...

They can all be incredibly effective, if they're right for you.

If not, why not focus on something that does feel right for you?

❤

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