Start the year off crystal f'n clear....

We've all heard it.
Get clear.
Narrow your niche down.
It's not narrow enough.
Niche, niche & niche some more!
Until you are ready to pull your hair out of your head & you are knee deep in frustration!

Then we've heard the laid back version.
Don't worry about your niche.
It will come to you.
Keep working with clients and you will narrow it down as you go.

So what's the truth?

Where's the happy go friggen lucky middle?!

I'm not going to say that there is a one size fits all approach to figuring out your niche. It could take a few hours or it could take a few months. But with some pointed & directed questions it will be a much simpler journey. Try these 3 questions on for size and see if you don't start seeing a clearer picture of you & your business.

1. What is your passion? What could you see yourself doing every day for the rest of your life? Why is this mission/purpose so important to you? Your story, who you are & what you value is single handedly one of the biggest areas to look at in your business. You want your business to communicate all of YOU. You are your business as a solopreneur.
2. Who is your target market? The peeps who are your POTENTIAL buying clients.
3. What SPECIFIC problem are you solving for WHOM within that target market?

Example: You are a creativity coach. Your target market is busy moms who have put their passion for the arts on the back burner. You help them create time to get creative again. To find their tribe of other moms to support their passions and bring more creativity back into their daily lives!

The clearer you get on your niche the quicker your business will begin to dramatically increase clients & revenue. Here's the deal. If you are not generating revenue you have an expensive hobby. It's as simple as that. A business generates income & has products or packages that bring in clients.

Here are a few other reasons why clarity will help you fast forward in your business.

1. Knowing how to write all the copy for your website. You need to know who you are talking to in order to properly communicate with your ideal client.
2. Branding your business can be an expensive & time consuming process. If you are not clear on your niche and you choose to brand your business, there is a really good chance you will be re-branding it a year down the road.
3. You need to know what solutions you are providing so that your packages & products clearly focus on the specific challenges & problems your clients are having. If you don't know the problem, you are not going to have a crystal clear solution. No crystal clear solution, no sale.
4. Writing your blogs posts will be easy because you will know exactly who you are talking to.
5. Creating your sales pages will be most effective if you know exactly who you are targeting.

All of your marketing is going to revolve around knowing your target market & what you do for them. 

Bringing YOU to your business is the most assured way that you will attract the clients you want to work with and that will benefit the most from working with you & your business.

As you can see there are many reasons why a niche is important. Truly there isn't a simple solution to figuring it all out. There are though ways that you can speed up the process and create more clarity for yourself. Here are 3 fun & experimental ways to start uncovering your niche.

1. Tell the world your intention. Ask for 5 clients that you think would be your ideal client.
Example. I am looking for 5 lovely folks who are stuck in their 9-5 job and would love help creating a plan of escape. I am looking for feedback, testimonial and for you to fill out a brief survey that will help me gain clarity on my niche. In return for your valued opinion you will get 60 minutes of 1:1 coaching.

2. Create a survey around your target market, niche & problem you are helping them with. Put the survey out to everyone you come in contact with. In return offer them a free downloadable e-book/workbook/pdf etc.

Sample questions you might ask to the above 9-5ers.
A) What is the one thing stopping you from quitting your job?
B) Do you have a strategic plan to get from 9-5 to entrepreneurship?
C) Do you have a date when you would like to tell your boss to go to h*ll?
D) What are some of the fears that are holding you back?

3. Hold a challenge. They are FREE. Folks love challenges to uplevel their lives. You will learn from your group members about what they are struggling with? You will also learn about what things you love helping folks with? You will clearly see what type of folks you prefer to work with and equally as important which ones aren't your ideal peeps.

The great news is that you don't have to narrow down your niche ASAP. There are plenty of awesome ways that you can work with clients, provide solutions while still gathering the data to create a business that you will thrive in. The one piece of advice that I would give anyone. Don't spend a ton of money, time & energy on your branding, copy or website until you are really certain that you have nailed your niche. Unless of course you are fully prepared to spend again. I'm not saying don't take the time to make a kick ass website, just don't put all your focus there and forget about learning about who you are destined to help.

When you get clear you get creative on your packages & products.

When you have crystal clear solutions you get clients & cash.

Spend the time to really focus on the foundation of your business before you start building the castle in the sky.

Bringing YOU to your business,
Shel XO