Picking a Niche as a Multi-passionate Entrepreneur
This is my take on the loaded topic of picking one niche for your multi-passionate business. Something that makes most multi-creatives see red as letting go of interests, can feel like cutting off limbs. A bit dramatic, but difficult nonetheless.
It’s important to say not all creatives have a problem picking a niche. This doesn’t apply to all multi-passionate creatives. Just those of us who change interests often, and those of us who cannot talk about one thing only.
Picking a niche has been incredibly hard for me. I’ve gone around in circles, and even though I’ve had this blog for around 7 years, I’m still challenged with picking one niche.
So, I understand the frustrations, the doubts, the one-step-forward, two-steps-back- feeling, and comparing yourself to everyone else who (supposedly) has it all together, and has built successful businesses, while you’re still stuck at the starting point. I get it.
Do you need a niche in business?
No matter how many passions you have, or what business you build, you can’t please everybody. And you can’t sell to everybody. We don’t want to either.
I don’t want my coaching to be for everyone. I want to attract those clients who are looking for the exact type of creativity coaching I offer. Kind and respectful women, who want to be coached by me, and whom I know I can help with their creative endeavors and small business.
You don’t need 100.000 customers to make a good living. Depending on what your business is obvs, sometimes 100 loyal customers can do the trick.
I went past a shop that sells sushi and pizza. No thanks. Pizza and pita, maybe, but not sushi and pizza.
You can definitely create a distinctive business using your multiple passions and skills, it’s more about what it is you offer and how you do it.
A niche doesn’t have to be one small topic.
The myth of only narrow niches make it in business
There is no shortage of messages on the internet, about why you have to pick one niche if you want to be successful in business.
So it’s important to highlight those successful businesses that have a broader niche.
Marie Forleo is a hugely successful business owner and coined the phrase, multi-passionate entrepreneur.
She says:
“The world needs that special gift that only you have,
Dedicated to helping you become the person you most want to be.
My work s devoted to sharing ideas, tools, and resources that will help you create, well anything.”
That’s pretty vague. She talks about business and personal growth. Her flagship program is B-School (business school) and it’s brilliant. I’m a b-schooler, not an affiliate, I just think it’s a good program.
Selling homemade knitted jumpers for girls aged 4-10 is a narrow niche. Forleo is helping women start a business and talks about topics related to business and personal growth.
Then you have Jasmine Star who’s a “photographer and business strategist who empowers entrepreneurs to build a brand, market it on social media, and create a life they love”.
She’s also covering a large number of topics like photography, business, marketing, entrepreneurship, social media, and all things related to living a good life.
That’s a lot of topics.
There are more examples Jennakutcher.com - a famous multi-passionate who started as a wedding photographer and nataliefranke.com
You can check them out, but the interesting thing these hugely successful businesses have in common, apart from being run by women (yay!), is they cover quite broad topics.
Tips to pick a niche as a multi-passionate entrepreneur?
There are as many ways of arriving at business clarity, as there are people starting businesses. Sorry, if that’s an annoying answer, but what’s good about it is, you don’t have to fit into any premade box… you get to be yourself in your own business. Yay!!
1: Write all your interests down, to make them visual.
It is so much better to work in a business that inspires you. One you’ll enjoy building. Lack of inspiration is not usually a problem for multi-passionate creatives, but dig a little deeper, and you might find that some of your interests are linked to a tool (Canva, Photoshop), or a medium (Instagram, YouTube).
I know many marketers say you have to start with your customer in mind. I believe you have to start with yourself in mind.
One way of getting some clarity:
Get all your interests onto paper. Write down the main topics that interest you. In broad terms.
Let’s say it’s self-development, self-care, cycling, art, eating vegetarian, and interior design.
Your interests will likely change as you evolve, but there might be topics you’ve always had an interest in, maybe even since you were young.
For me, those topics are creativity, business, interior design, and personal growth.
Plot it all into a mind map
A mind map is a visual, organized brainstorming tool.
Get your big-arse paper out, or stick several A4 papers together.
Write what first comes to mind. Don’t overthink it. It doesn’t have to make sense. It’s literally brain-dumping. Be playful about it, use colored pens if that makes it more fun for you.
I find that mind mapping can be a fun and useful thing, or it can be something I resist because I feel pressured to come up with gold nuggets.
So I suggest you lower your expectations completely and just see what happens.
Once you’re done, have a look and see if there are topics that give you more energy than others. You can circle the topics you think could be business-related.
Another filter you can use is to take the circled topics and do a mind map on them.
“Choose the niche that you enjoy, where you can excel and stand a chance of becoming an acknowledged leader”
2: Ask yourself a few soul questions
Once you have some topics you’re thinking will be suited for a business niche, it’s question time.
This step takes time. Your brain is like a Google search and when you ask the same question over and over, your mind will find an answer.
If answers pop up right away, make sure to write them down.
What could I talk about every day for the next year?
What would I regret not at least trying?
If I had the world’s attention for 1 day, what is the one message I would want the world to hear? (from Design Your Life)
3. Think in terms of positioning more than niching: it’s not about 1 or 5 passions, but about standing out.
It’s less about how narrow your niche is, but whether a certain group of people only can get what they need from you, and whether you deliver an experience that blows them away.
This means creating a distinctive business that stands out and sharing your work consistently (marketing).
It held me back for years I was too worried about the details. Having this mindset that I “should” narrow my niche down.
Go with what you have and learn as you go. You’ll find out what works and what doesn’t. What people relate to and what they don’t relate to. Where the money is and what’s draining you and your business. Just get going.
Remember, there is no one way to create a business. No matter which way you twist and turn it if you don’t enjoy it, what’s the point?
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes that, to me, sums up business, and it’s by Marty Neumeier.
“It’s not about marketing, it’s about mattering.”
