As creative people, we’re often torn between styles or concepts we love, but ‘niching down’ doesn’t have to mean one thing.

From the moment you declare you're starting a business, the question: “What’s my niche?” niggles away at your mindset much like a stranger knocking at the door.  You weren't expecting them and you're apprehensive about answering, but you can't seem to ignore them either.

To ‘find your niche’ – it’s such a well-used phrase, it almost implies that it’s an easy thing to do. It can seem overwhelming, but it simply means to ‘create a specialised service, style or product in the marketplace for a specific customer’

Everyone from Steve Jobs to Dolly Parton talks about the power and importance of finding and doubling down on your niche. And you’ll be hard-pressed to talk to a business coach that would tell you any different. 

But deciding on your niche can be particularly troublesome if you're a multi-passionate creative who loves exploring and experimenting with lots of different mediums. Which is about 99% of all creatives!

One-stock-shop

‘Niching down’ in business isn't a new concept. I remember the first time I wandered about the cobbled streets of old Amsterdam. A bright-eyed design student not long after the millennium, grinning from ear to ear, I was totally in awe of the skinny shops specialising in just one thing – bow-ties, hand-painted plates, peanut butter, ribbons and toothbrushes. It felt like I was a million miles away from the all-in-one commercial shopping centres I was accustomed to seeing in the North of England. I was enthralled by the attention to detail, devotion, vision and passion that the store owners must have embraced to create their businesses. 

Inspired by this newfound reality that I didn't have to be great at everything to have a thriving and unique creative business, my entrepreneurial spirit and passion for niches were born there and then.

Another great place to see niches in action is on one of the thirty-six shopping streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter in Vietnam. Entire streets dedicated to selling products made of one material such as bamboo, steel or clay, or one product line such as spices, lights, seasonal decorations or haberdashery. It’s fascinating to explore and also super easy to know where to go when you're looking for something specific. 

Niches make for such successful business models because they make it easier for customers to find and buy from you. The more niche you are, the simpler it is to create a clear line of communication between your marketing efforts and dream customers. 

The ‘sacrifice for success’ myth 

As a Mindset & Success Coach for creatives, I see many troubled creativepreneurs fail to fully embrace that to have a successful business doing what they love, they have to peel some of their attention away from their own needs and desires and refocus it on their customers’. For without customer sales, there can be no business. And while sales are not the only measure of success, they are a fundamental marker that separates a financially thriving business from a struggling one.

What makes selecting a niche challenging for so many creatives? The two most common limiting beliefs I hear are;

1. You will have to sacrifice doing all the other things that you love. Deemed Tragic.
   
   
2. Once you pick your niche, you're stuck doing one thing forever. Boring and also tragic. 

These concepts leave many folks stuck on the fence, not knowing which way to jump for the fear that they’ll pick the wrong side. 

So how do you un-stuck yourself so you can start making more of the progress you desire?

First, I invite you to release the belief that you have to give up doing anything you love, period. And recognise that if your business is struggling or you are feeling overwhelmed, you can choose to simplify things by focusing on specific creations or styles in the business, and transition your other creations to something you explore in your free time. That’s right, you don’t have to give them up.

Next, give yourself permission to take time picking your niche. Like the author, E.A. Bucchianeri said, “You know how creative people are. We have to try everything until we find our niche”. 

And that’s the best way to approach it. 

Get curious and experimental with focusing on something in your business for a while and review the results. If you like it, and it sells and makes a profit, keep going. If that’s not the case, pivot and experiment in another area. The benefit of being your own boss is that you get to decide. No decision is final unless you want it to be. Just be patient with your expectations as you explore each new season of creative focus in your business.

Then, consider that you can create your niche through your branding itself? That’s right! Instead of honing in on a specific product or service, you can focus on niching your concept, style and aesthetic. 

How to nail your niche (if you want to)

So, how do you know if niching down can work wonders for you and your creative business?  Check out these flow charts for the answer.

How to know the niche you're considering is a good one?

A fast-track to trust 

Niches get a bad rap among the creative community at times. On the one hand, zooming in to a specific medium, style, or product can feel restrictive and contradictory to the expansive feeling creativity nurtures within us. On the other hand, setting constraints can open up a world of possibility to take your craft to a more profound level of exploration and experimentation or geek-out completely on a quirky passion like the bow-tie business in Amsterdam. 

Niches in the eyes of the customer represent your passion, dedication and expertise. All this seduces the customer and translates to trust, one of the most influential considerations when deciding to spend their hard-earned cash.

While niching down has its benefits, it is important to remember that you don't have to do it. If your business is doing well and you're enjoying it don’t feel under pressure to make changes. If it ain't broke then don’t fix it. Keep doing you!