Are You Holding Back Because You Think Your Niche Is Saturated?
Think again.
A few months ago, I met with a potential client. She had recently been laid off from her job as a graphic designer at a local advertising agency. Instead of looking for a new job, she decided she would venture out on her own.
She was really nervous but definitely excited. She had so many ideas for ways she could help her ideal client and so many things she wanted to share with other aspiring graphic designers.
I was excited for her too. She was really talented and had a great portfolio of work. By all accounts, she seemed diligent and trustworthy. I figured she would definitely be successful.
She wasn’t quite ready for personal branding coaching so we decided to meet up again in about a month and discuss further.
When I saw her a month later, she was a different person. All the excitement about going out on her own was gone. Her enthusiasm to help marketing departments communicate better through visual design? Evaporated.
She told me that she wasn’t going in that direction anymore. In fact, she was actively seeking another full-time job!
When I asked her why, her response was:
“There’s just too many people doing what I want to do. The space is over-saturated.”
I may not be right for you, but I’m right for somebody.
When it comes to helping people become better versions of themselves, I honestly believe there is no such thing as over-saturation.
We live in the age of personalization which means that people are actively seeking out solutions that are just right for them. Most times we aren’t even exactly sure what that looks like until we see (or hear) it.
So when everyone is looking for something that feels right for them, how can the market be over-saturated. Sure, it can be crowded, but there’s always room for different.
Think about your favorite teacher from when you were in school or a teacher who could make a subject that you usually didn’t like come alive. Even better, think about a teacher who could break down a subject in a way that helped you finally understand a topic when no one else could.
That teacher was teaching the same subject, using the same textbooks as all the other teachers, but for some reason, you only understood the subject when she taught it.
You are that teacher for someone out there.
Even though there are already a lot of people saying some version of what you have to say or doing some version of what you plan to do, there’s a whole audience of people who will only ‘get it’ when they get it from you.
It’s like how two cooks can follow the same exact recipe but end up preparing two dishes that taste different, look different and leave a different feeling depending on who’s tasting it.
One cook might make the dish a little crispier than the other cook. Both dishes taste great, but perhaps you prefer the one that’s not as crispy. You’re going to get the contact details of the cook who makes the dish the way you like it. Right?
The point is: you are someone’s preference — someone prefers you.
Even if there are thousands of people who claim to do what you do. The thing to remember is that no matter what, they aren’t you.
They don’t have your spirit.
They don’t have your story.
They don’t have your energy.
They don’t have your humor.
They don’t have your journey.
They aren’t from your hometown.
They don’t speak with your accent.
They aren’t going to say it the way you’d say it. They won’t write it the way you would write it. They won’t use the same analogies and metaphors and stories that you would.
Where’s the saturation?
Overcrowding
I’ve read my fair share of articles and comments about there being too many coaches, too many courses or too many people in any given field.
These articles and comments try to discourage people who had never coached or created courses from even starting and trying and seeing what they could do because of saturation
The thing is that saturation doesn’t matter if you have a better solution and it really doesn't matter if you have a different solution.
Too many schools?
When you think about coaches and courses simply as education, you have to wonder why no one has ever said that there are just too many schools.
I mean think about it. We have:
- Public neighborhood schools
- Public charter schools
- Public magnet schools
- Montessori schools
- Private independent schools
- Co-ed schools
- Pre-K to 12 schools
- Middle school only schools
- High School only schools
And we haven’t even gotten around to the college options from community to state university to small liberal college to prestigious Ivy League.
No one bats an eye at all these education options when we’re thinking about children.
Children must be educated, so an overwhelming list of options is what we’ve come to accept when it comes to education for kids and when it’s time to choose an educational model for their kids, parents take a seat and look at what makes the most sense for their children and their family situation, their finances, their preferences and a host of other factors.
Let’s even look beyond school. We grow up, but we continue to want and need to learn. That’s why there are new books that come out every single day. All talking about the same twelve problems we all have.
There are constantly new ways to explain old problems. There are more modern methods and more up-to-date approaches to age-old issues that plague us which is why there are so many courses and coaches on the market.
People are dynamic and changing. We need more people lighting the way not less. We need more styles of instruction, not fewer. We need more diverse voices and content not the same old ones.
So in this era of personalization, education and work will both begin to be more personalized. So the proliferation of courses and coaches is just a natural response to this new era of personalization.
The issue isn’t how many people are doing what you want to do. The issue is figuring out how to do it in a way that’s unique to you and attractive and valuable to a few.
In Conclusion
The next time someone tries to sew seeds of doubt around your new course or your new coaching or consulting venture, even if you’re the person who’s doing the sewing and you’re doubting yourself, just remember, someone out there needs to hear it from you.
There will be an increasing need for people who can light the way, so if that’s you, and you have a message to share that can help other people figure out their path, don’t hold it back from them.
