First things first, we know you’ve likely heard of niching before. And we know you’ve likely done ‘niching activities’ before, BUT for the love of the success of your business and the humans whose lives you want to impact, please keep reading.
Niching isn’t a ‘one and done’ activity – it can take time to find your perfect sweet spot (as frustrating, confusing and overwhelming as this can feel!) and it’s crucial that you stay connected to your niche, and their needs, desires and struggles as your business grows.
Niching and knowing exactly who it is you want to work with and support, is the #1 thing you need to be clear on before you can begin taking ANY action towards creating your offerings and making money in your helping business.
Your dream clients and your niche, underpin absolutely everything you do, create and say in your business. EVERYTHING!
The interesting thing for therapreneurs? (That’s therapists turned entrepreneurs, FYI).
Most of them are so used to supporting a broad spectrum of people in the clinical space that they tend to…
- Forget that they now make all the juicy rules in their businesses and don’t have to be ‘generalists’ who are everything to everyone
- Fear that a more narrow niche = less clients = a failed business.
BUT niching is one of THE MOST supportive things you can do for your business and its longevity, and generally speaking the more refined the niche, the more successful the business (consider all the multi-6 and 7 figure business owners you know – their niches are pretty darn refined, are they not?!)
WHY is niching so supportive for your success and therefore your capacity to have a big impact in the world?
- Without knowing who you want to support, you’re stuck. Your niche determines everything you write, say, share, create and sell. You’d literally be talking to no-one and staring at a blank screen otherwise!
- When you’re crystal clear on who you want to support, you can communicate directly to that person in your marketing (if the word marketing makes you cringe then read this). The internet is a noisy place and businesses that speak broadly get drowned out. The more direct you can be, the more success you’ll see!
- Niching has the power to enhance your joy in your business because when you love who you’re serving, you want to show up to your work day in and day out, year after year (oh hey there, sustainable business and having a darn good time in your work!)
Need we say more?
4 steps for getting clear on, or refining your niche as a therapreneur.
Step 1: Consider who and what you’re most passionate about.
Whose lives would you love to impact in your helping business? What topics/issues/challenges/life stages interest and absorb you?
For example: Therapists and Health Professionals
Step 2: Now ask yourself – can I drill down on this group anymore?
Is there a particular subsection of this group you feel most called to support?
For example: Therapists and Health Professionals who want to evolve away from the ‘Therapy Chair’ and harness their years of education, training and skill development, to create a profitable non-clinical business they love (but work less while earning more, please!)
(Sidenote: do you see how this ‘drilling down’ would support us to speak even more directly to our dream people, and serve them in really specific and helpful ways?)
Step 3: Then, ponder what these people need from you.
What challenges could you support them to resolve? What dreams could you help them bring to life? How could you be of service?
For example: Actually knowing how on earth to start and grow a successful business, understanding the legalities of transitioning away from the ‘Therapy Chair’ and starting a helping business, learning how to market and sell in an authentic and non cringey way, etc.
Step 4: Lastly, consider what you can offer them and most importantly, whether or not this is something they will pay you for.
Because the truth is that just because people have a need doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a market for what you have to offer them, or that they have the financial means to invest in it.
For example: a highly supportive business building program that supports them to lay the foundations for their helping business and build out a successful offer.
And yes, therapists and health professionals would have the means, and the drive, to invest in our services and their dreams.
Now, try it for yourself and remember – you don’t need to land your perfect niche first time round. Simply, get curious and enjoy the process.
Common niching struggles for therapreneurs (so you know you’re not alone!)
Curious to hear some of the common struggles therapreneurs have when they embark on a journey with niching?
They feel guilty
Yep, therapreneurs are some of the biggest hearted humans out there, and many of them feel guilty when they evolve away from the ‘Therapy Chair’ and have to ‘let go’ of the vulnerable groups of people they’re passionate about supporting.
If this is you know that this doesn’t make you a bad person and it doesn’t mean that you can’t support them in other ways, like through charitable endeavors.
The fact of the matter is that your helping business can support you to make so much more money than the ‘Therapy Chair’ ever could.
And when you do? The ways you can impact the lives of the vulnerable communities you care most deeply about increase exponentially.
They have many passions, so don’t know what to hone in on
Many of the therapreneurs we support are multi-passionate, so find it difficult to find clarity around who they want to support in their helping business.
A question I like to ask our multi-passionates is…
If you were guaranteed success in each of these ideas, which one would you start with? Which idea lights you up the most?
If you’re equally passionate about all of them, it can be helpful to choose the group that would have the means to invest in the support you have to offer (sidenote: this doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re suggesting you serve the wealthiest people, it may well come down to the season of life someone is in, and where their financial priorities lie).
They don’t give their niche enough time to succeed
Generally speaking, many new business owners jump from niche to niche because they’re waiting to find the one that ‘works’. BUT most of them simply aren’t giving their niche/their business enough time to establish itself.
A successful business takes time. Lots of time. And even a really logical and potential filled niche may not take off immediately.
Commit to the process and go all in. Changing things up all the time is confusing for your audentice and potentially, a big waste of your precious time and energy.
Want to dive even more deeply into the topic of niching?
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