It’s time for another Q&A episode of the podcast! Today I’m answering Andrea’s question about whether or not it’s possible to niche too narrowly.
Can your niche be too small? Can you niche too far?
If this is something you’re worried about or you’re still experiencing some niche resistance, this is going to be a super helpful episode for you.
Let’s dive in!
A big thank you to Andrea Jordan for this question for today’s podcast episode. You can find out more about Andrea and her amazing services over at andrea-jordan.com.
Andrea is a business strategist and systems expert, and can help you make your business run smoother and more easily.
Andrea asks:
“Can you niche too far? Meaning is it possible to restrict your niche so much that your business is no longer sustainable? Are there warning signs that you may have gone too far?”
This is a fabulous question Andrea, and it’s definitely something that I’ve encountered in a lot of my client work, and particularly in the Take Off program.
Before I jump into answering your question, first and foremost, let’s make sure we are all on the same page about what a niche is.
Your niche is NOT:
- The service that you provide
- The area that you want to be working in,
- All the people who could benefit from your services
Your niche is the group of people that you focus on when you are marketing your products and services.
Even though your modality or your services may be helpful for all people who are entrepreneurs, or all mums, or all people who have trouble with fear, that doesn’t mean that that is your niche.
Magnifying glass on the word niche – can you niche too far in business start-up?
Your niche is where you are focusing your energy and attention when you are marketing your products and services.
With that in mind, your niche generally changes and grows as you get better at marketing your business.
For some people, their niche gets more and more narrow. For others, as their business grows their niche gets wider and larger.
Generally speaking, the smaller the niche, the higher your conversion rates AND the more money you can charge for your services in particular.
We are very passionate in the ladyposse about keeping our niche nice and specific.
It’s not necessarily the case that you can niche too small or that you can go too far. An example of this would be being a dog walker for celebrities in the Hollywood region.
You might think that there are so few people who would fit that specific niche, but if you have a particular skill or you have an ability to reach those people, then being able to niche down and focus on the specific needs of the dogs of celebrities and the celebrities themselves, is a really smart and savvy niche.
It’s not necessarily that the niche is too small. However, it is possible to niche too specifically without necessarily having the reason, the benefit or the access to that niche.
Another very hyper-specific niche is what a friend of mine has. She is actually a makeup artist for ballet. You might say that that is way too niched and way too specific, but she has ready access to ballet companies, ballet schools and ballerinas online.
For her, being that specific and being that niched is a VERY smart decision.
However, if she didn’t have access to that audience, then it may be difficult to get traction niching that specifically.
It’s not necessarily that it’s possible to niche too far or to go too small. If you think about the guy who made that $200,000 rocking horse for Jay Z and Beyoncé when they bought it for Blue Ivy, he can afford to be really specifically niched, and very focused in. Due to the fact that he’s charging such high rates and he’s getting such good money for his work, then technically, if he wants to make $200,000 a year, he only needs to find one client.
It’s not necessarily that the niche can be too small, but we also want to ensure that you are able to access that niche and that you’re able to get access to an appropriate number of people for your business to be sustainable.
I’ve got a couple of niche tests for you that might help you work out whether you are being too specific or whether this is just a mindset issue and we can get on with growing your business and really focusing on that niche.
Here are my niche tests:
1. Is it reasonable to believe that there are 10,000 people in the world that fit this niche?
If it is reasonable to believe that there are 10,000 people in the world who would fit that niche, then I would say your niche isn’t too specific. Let’s go and find those 10,000 people.
Using the law of 1%, if you find those 10,000 people, reach them and can convert 100 of them into paying clients, then you might decide:
- I’m going to broaden my niche now, or
- I’m going to focus on higher conversion in that very hyper-specific niche
In most cases, when I ask this niching question to people, they realise that there are definitely over a million people who fit their niche, and it becomes clear that it’s not a matter of niching too specifically. It’s reasonable to think that you can go out and get in touch with those 10,000 people.
2. If you were an average person and knew around 600 people, do you know 3 out of those 600 people who would fit your niche?
This second niche test is related to a widely accepted fact and statistic that the average person knows 600 people to the point where they would recognise them and say hello to them on the street.
If out of those 600 people you can think of 3 that would fit your niche, then it is reasonable to say that your niche is accessible to you as well.
The first niche test is around the quantity, and the second niche test is around your ability to access that niche.
If your answer is yes to both of those questions then I would say you definitely haven’t niched too narrowly.
The opposite challenge is usually the problem that most people have.
They are not niching specifically enough.
A lot of the time, people are not niching specifically enough because they’re not focused on accessibility either.
There are so many people who see the entire world as their marketplace. They’re not focused on where they have ready access to an audience, so they keep their niche so broad that they try to speak to everyone, and end up resonating with no one.
Hopefully this has answered your question, Andrea.
If you have any follow-up questions and want to continue the conversation, then please do make sure you come on over to the Heart-Centred, Soul-Driven Entrepreneurs Facebook group, use #podcastaha, let me know you’ve been reading episode number 254, and let’s continue the conversation.
If you’ve been reading this episode and you’re thinking that you need to do some work on your niching, I have a fabulous free resource for you.
It’s called Nail Your Niche.
You can gain instant access to this free training at tashcorbin.com/niche.
Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.
