How To Find Your Niche or Not
Defining Your Niche On Your Own Terms
For years my creative direction was stifled, I felt in some areas I couldn’t get started because I didn’t have a crystal clear direction or genre. Most entrepreneur gurus will preach the need to find your niche before you do anything and not just find it but niche down. While this is not wrong, it is not absolute. Yes, before you can establish a business, you need to figure out what exactly it is that you are wanting to do. Your niche is going to be the focus of your business, no matter what kind of business you plan on going into. To find your niche, you will need to do a bit of soul-searching and then bring this together with a business idea. Some people choose their niche off a random brilliant idea, some have known their entire life and others are looking to find fulfillment through a hobby. It is largely a personal decision that will ultimately require you to look within and determine what will bring you happiness while also paying the bills. Yet, this isn’t the end-all, be-all to start on your journey.
What Are You Good At?
Many people love the idea of turning their hobbies into a niche, but that isn’t always the best course of action. When it comes to exploring a niche, take some time to explore the efforts of others. Compare that to what you can provide or uniquely bring to the market. Though you can always grow in a field, you might want to put in more practice before you fully invest in a hobby or idea as a career. Niches come with different options. You might want to write about baking or be an actual baker. Consider what sounds fulfilling to you!
What Makes Your Heart Happy?
A great place to begin when it comes to choosing a niche is simply considering what makes you happy. What passions do you have? What interests do you want to pursue? It is always easier to commit to a niche when it is something that you really enjoy. Many people choose a niche that is based on their own interests, which gives them the power to feel constantly energized and happy about their pursuits. It is a great way to skip out on working a job that your heart isn’t in and replace it with something that you love. Or maybe you’re like me and a jack of many trades and a master of a few. You may have several interests, some of which blend into one another and some that are in the complete opposite direction. One thing I want you to not discount is trying a few niches that are complementary to one another to start out. You can then use the data and feedback you received to make an informed decision on which direction you truly want to continue in. The most important and often hardest part of starting a business or anything really is actually getting started. Do not allow not being able to pinpoint an exact niche deter you from starting.
What Is Relevant?
Though you can certainly enter any niche that you want, not all of them are ideal depending on what your specific goals are. Niches change a lot in popularity depending on societal interests. Something that doesn’t sell much today might be highly coveted tomorrow. Before you enter a niche, it is important to look at it from a business perspective, and research like crazy. Is it likely to make you money? Is it an over saturated field? Niches that aren’t popular can be easy to enter but difficult on sales. Niches that are too popular can be incredibly difficult to enter yet have amazing financial benefits if executed right and unique from the competition.
What Is Everyone In The Niche Doing?
As you begin to settle on potential ideas, it is important to focus on what people are already doing. Some of the most popular niches are personal finance, beauty, marketing, weight loss, business, tech, and pets. Before you enter a niche, you should know it. Make sure you take a close look at other brands in the space. How are they operating? Does it seem like they are successful with how they marketing themselves to potential customers? Doing your homework in advance can make it easy for you to craft a solid plan to enter a niche in a strong and competitive way.
“The most important and often hardest part of starting a business or anything really is actually getting started. Do not allow not being able to pinpoint an exact niche deter you from starting.”
There are times when you will find yourself looking at niches and utterly unable to decide. That is completely okay. There are a great many niches and you are a complex person. As you begin to pursue your options, take some time to really research, and evaluate each one or try out a plethora of a few. Choosing a niche will always have a better outcome when you put in the effort to find your perfect match or matches. Now get out there, be fearless.
Katevious Love is a writer, digital content creator, public speaker, and blogger. In addition to her creations, she helps entrepreneurs develop and market projects to grow their brands. Her work has appeared in Bloomberg, The Startup, and on Netflix. If you’re interested in branding/marketing grab a FREE copy of “The Brand Identity” to get started below.
