Are you struggling to pinpoint your specialty? Are you guilty of changing your Instagram bio an embarrassing number of times? If so, it may be time to revisit and clarify your business niche.
Identifying a niche helps business owners gain clarity on a specialized or focused area of a broader market their business serves. It can help you stand out, create stronger marketing strategies and thrive on social media, especially in a saturated market.
After helping over 80 entrepreneurs in the past year I’ve highlighted six ways entrepreneurs can further clarify their business niche.
1. Pay attention to what your audience wants
We are inundated with text messages, social media notifications, and emails by both family and friends. While we are quick to take professional connections more seriously, I advise clients not to rule out family and friends as helpful sources for market research.
For example, if you’re a life coach and everyone in your circles reaches out to you for relationship advice this can signal a possible new niche (i.e., relationship coaching) for you.
I remember running in circles as a life coach. I was not attracting my ideal clients. Yet, the second I changed my niche to storytelling, I fell into true alignment, and two new clients reached out to me within the same month. This is largely due to the fact I’ve always helped people with writing, but never thought to monetize my storytelling skills.
2. Conduct market research
When I brainstorm content ideas, one of my favorite tricks is to look to Facebook Groups and see what problems keep popping up. If I find a problem that keeps coming up in a Facebook Group, I look at it as an opportunity.
As a journalist, prior to becoming a certified life coach, I noticed many people were struggling to tell their stories. So, I jumped in to offer my expertise in the form of free-market research calls. The more I talked with people, the more I learned storytelling was a valuable niche.
3. Review past client feedback
Sometimes the answers are right in front of us – in the form of client feedback – and we overlook them. As I helped people unlock their brand stories, I realized I was also connecting the dots in their life experiences to unearth their niche. It felt like a spark of divine inspiration. I now had a second niche to serve an entirely new market as a storytelling and niche coach.
4. Tap into your career experience
Another clue to your niche can be tucked away in your past career experience. After working with a former client, a healing and wellness coach, I realized she was also a powerhouse business strategist who helped Fortune 500 companies unlock next-level revenue. Once this niche was identified, she stepped into her authentic self and secured her first client.
5. Tackle new projects and expand your skillset
I’m the type of person who must have more than one activity happening in life otherwise I tend to get bored. If you’re the same way I recommend tackling a new project, such as freelancing on Upwork or Fiverr to explore expanding your skillset. You’ll not only make extra income but gain greater clarity about what type of work lights you up.
For example, I randomly started freelancing outside my daily 9 to 5 job. I was tasked to help a client repurpose her resume and statement of purpose on Upwork for a career change. As I dug through her life experiences and extracted a powerful brand story, I realized I could help more people do the say.
6. Look closely at your life story
Finally, my top method to help clients find their niche is to interview them and study the patterns in their life stories. When you learn what someone has been through you can help connect the dots in their life experiences and unearth their niche. At a deeper level, you may help someone discover their life purpose.
It can be hard to randomly identify a niche and stay loyal to it, especially if you aren’t intrinsically connected. A personal connection to your niche will inspire you to keep going as you experience ups and downs on your entrepreneurship journey.
Dhara Singh is a former journalist with bylines in Yahoo Finance, CNET, and Bankrate.com now full-time storytelling and niche coach for digital entrepreneurs. She has helped more than 80+ entrepreneurs unlock their brand identity in the past year While most entrepreneurs look at their life story from a surface level, Dhara believes through an investigative lens you can unlock deeper clues that point to a person’s purpose by connecting the dots. Would you like to learn more about growing your business online and learning from other business owners and entrepreneurs? Join the annual Women Thrive virtual summit every March where Dhara Singh shares her top tips to ‘Discovering Your Niche and Uncovering Your Brand Story’. Save your spot today and take part in this global event.
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