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What is a niche? According to Dictionary.com, a niche is, "a place or position suitable or appropriate for a person or thing, or a distinct segment of a market."
For many of us, everything about picking a niche evokes our deeply-held / innate sense of indecision, like what I experienced right now. I couldn't figure out whether deeply-held or innate would be more powerful, so I left them both in. Many of us do this all the time.
I remember for much of my life not being fond of questions like "What is your favorite color?" or "What is the one thing, food, or place that you prefer"? That's because as far as many of us are concerned, picking one means not selecting the other options. It is favoring something (and therefore feels like automatically devaluing the other possibilities). In economics, it is known as opportunity cost, the benefit of one choice is based on what you could have received by selecting an alternate option. In life, it is called indecision. Basically, it seems to be another excuse not to make a decision! As an entrepreneur, it may appear as staring at a blank screen hoping for inspiration to strike.
Why is this so harmful when trying to create a profitable business? As indecisive as we may be, we thrive on services and products that make decisions for us, precisely because the majority of us are indecisive in some area of our lives. What this means is that you are providing value just by helping someone make a decision. So, for example, as a career coach, instead of offering resume writing, job search advice, and LinkedIn profile re-writing, if you pick one thing that you do really well, you can guide your clients on how to utilize that one option as their go-to strategy to get a new job. The truth is that most of us just want our lives to be simplified, which is why asking someone to pick their own niche is a counter-productive proposition.
Often, someone other than you can see what you do really well and sense your enthusiasm and passion for certain areas of focus; but on your own, it's often harder to place one of your skill sets higher than the other, because we've been conditioned to have to become good at doing a lot of things. Especially when we naturally like to do a lot of different things, it becomes almost insulting to be told to pick just one thing to focus on as an entrepreneur.
However, a niche doesn't necessarily have to be about focusing on just one offering; it could be focusing on one particular market. In the previous example, the career coach could choose to offer resume writing, job search advice, and LinkedIn profile re-writing but gear her work toward only millennial clients whereas another career coach might choose to be the LinkedIn expert for all job-seekers in high-tech.
By narrowing down your niche, most likely you are helping others, not hurting yourself. You're not down-playing your many strengths; you're helping others focus on the one thing they can do so they don't become overwhelmed. For that, you're seen and paid as an expert instead of been passed on by one more client.
Prema Srinivasan helps entrepreneurs find their profitable niche by assisting them to identify the intersection of their passions, skills, and market demand. With an MBA and over 15 years of experience in marketing and business strategy, Prema helps her clients create powerful strategies for success. www.richnichebizcoaching.com