How (and Why) to Define Your Business Niche
When starting a business, it can be tempting to try to offer as many skills and services as possible, to be a jack of all trades. After all, the more different things you do, the more different types of clients you can have, right? However, while expanding your services might allow you to expand your target market, you might actually be better sticking to a more specialized niche, rather than trying to spread yourself too thin!
Define Your Niche, Hone Your Specialties
When you first start out, you might not know exactly what your “niche” is, and that’s okay! You may get some clients or jobs that aren’t really your specialty or area of interest—or you might discover that you love something you didn’t even know you did! If you take every opportunity as a learning experience, you should be able to determine what you do best (and enjoy most) so that you can refine your services and be the very best in your industry.
Here are some steps for really honing in on your niche—and defining your business around it!
Find your passion and talent
Passion and talent often go hand in hand. We tend to be good at the things we love doing simply because we do them more! So think about where your interests lie; what do you love doing? And what are you good at? Are you a natural at connecting to or speaking with people? Working with your hands? Being super organized? It doesn’t have to be something you can put on a resume!
It might be helpful to make a list (or two) of not only your interests, but also your skills and experiences. Where have you worked in the past? What have you studied or learned? What have you achieved? Your lists should help you uncover some patterns or areas of potential interest.
Look for a need in your market
Before you launch a business based purely on passion or grand ideas, do yourself a favor and do some research. Not every passion or talent directly correlates to a business idea, and not every business idea has a place in the market. You might need to tweak your ideas to better fill a need. Remember, if there’s no need for your service or product, you’re probably not going to find clients who want to buy it!
Thinking about your ideas from a client’s point of view might be a good way to start. What need would cause a potential client to search out a business like yours? And how, in turn, would your business meet that need?
Research your competition
Once you’ve defined a need, the next step is to determine how many businesses are already working within that niche. The last thing you want to do is open a new business in an area where there are already twenty businesses offering the same service! So instead, find ways to set yourself apart from the competition—how can you make yourself different? How can you adjust your services to fill a different need?
Market your business
Once you’ve fine-tuned your service a bit, it’s time to show off your skills and tell your clients and could-be customers just what makes you special! This is where a refined marketing plan comes into play!
Need a Hand Fine-Tuning Your Business Niche?
Not sure where to start on finding your business niche? Or maybe you’ve got that sorted but you’re feeling a little lost on the marketing side of things? Corridor Consulting can help! Contact us today, and let’s talk about how we can help you grow your business. Or, for even more tips, resources, and networking opportunities, join the Corridor Community.