About this column
Photo by koka_sexton courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.
10 To Do’s for Wannabe Nichier Enterprises
1.} Know your intentions for this enterprise. Why are you getting off the couch to do this? {Really — start there!} Why do you want this? Why is this the best package or container for your gifts and talents? What do you hope to create out of this enterprise? What is the lifestyle you would like to have? What’s the story you want people to write about you someday?
2.} Get really clear on your right people. Then get really okay with leaving the non-right people behind. {You can still be nice to them. Just don’t cater to them.}
3.} Get your branding on-point. If graphic design and web design/development isn’t your strong suit, hire someone to tease your ideas out of your brain and put them into pixels. And make sure this designer is your right person. This is pretty important.
4.} Come into your voice. You know, the one you talk in or write in when you’re talking to your closest friends and other people who get what you’re excited about. Un-censor yourself.
5.} Identify with, and differentiate yourself from, others in your industry and macro niche. {Your enterprise is a a micro niche unto itself.} See how you fit in, how you align. See how you veer away, how you stand apart.
6.} Get clear on exactly how you help your right people. What are the tangible and intangible benefits of working with you? Not sure how you help? Ask your happy clients or customers. Don’t have any clients or customers yet? Ask a trusted friend who understands what you’re trying to do. In fact, offer her a trial service for free.
7.} Start minimizing or outsourcing to an amazing Virtual Assistant {VA} like Dawn Martinello, Jess Larsen, Marissa Bracke, or Lisa Morosky the parts of your work that are not fun for you or that keep you feeling hindered, frustrated, and less than your best. Yep, you have to pay them and keep in touch with them. But the clarity and focus you will gain in getting this cruddy-for-your-psyche stuff out of the way will be worth it.
8.} Try sloughing off a layer of your business that feels dry and un-juicy to you. Delete it from your services page. Take it off your online store. Stop blogging about it. Just remove it and see what happens.
9.} Relax and let it happen. We get so tightened up when we focus on getting it right. Remember, your entrepreneurial life is supposed to be fun and rewarding. Don’t you want to be able to breathe into it and experience every moment fully? {Mistakes, missteps, snafus, and all.}
10.} Subscribe to my free 10-part e-course on Creating a Truly Irresistible Niche. {Look for the sign-up form in the righthand sidebar of my blog.} If you like my blog posts, you won’t believe the value I’ve packed into each lesson of this e-course. {Signing up for this e-course also gets you my weekly-ish e-newsletter, Inklings. It’s the insider scoop on nichification and moving deeper into your entrepreneurial dream. Also perks, like advance discounts on future products and the like.}
Now, what one thing from this To Do List will you do today?
Hello, you.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Great list Abby! I really like the picture for the post. Do one thing for today. It wasn’t mentioned in the body of the post but I think its an important philosophy. What is the time frame for these 10 things? Too often people let time pass by without taking any action. Research and learning become an excuse for not taking action
Great list Abby! I really like the picture for the post. Do one thing for today. It wasn’t mentioned in the body of the post but I think its an important philosophy. What is the time frame for these 10 things? Too often people let time pass by without taking any action. Research and learning become an excuse for not taking action
Hey, Mark —
Yeah, I found the photo after writing the post and didn’t go back and work the idea of doing one thing — taking one step — into the post. But action is essential, right?
I think that if someone wants to nichify their biz, they can actually start absolutely anywhere on the list. Pick the step that’s shouting out to you the loudest and do that first. And as far as a time frame, I recommend that people let changes happen organically. You might start with Step 2, then move to Step 6, then go ahead and do Step 8. There really isn’t a procedure that is better or worse than any other — I think it’s different for every biz and every entrepreneur.
And yes, I totally feel ya on the “research and learning becoming an excuse for not taking action.” Uh-huh. Been there. I’m an information sponge and sometimes let that delay the doing of what I really want to do.
Glad you’re here, Mark!
Hey, Mark —
Yeah, I found the photo after writing the post and didn’t go back and work the idea of doing one thing — taking one step — into the post. But action is essential, right?
I think that if someone wants to nichify their biz, they can actually start absolutely anywhere on the list. Pick the step that’s shouting out to you the loudest and do that first. And as far as a time frame, I recommend that people let changes happen organically. You might start with Step 2, then move to Step 6, then go ahead and do Step 8. There really isn’t a procedure that is better or worse than any other — I think it’s different for every biz and every entrepreneur.
And yes, I totally feel ya on the “research and learning becoming an excuse for not taking action.” Uh-huh. Been there. I’m an information sponge and sometimes let that delay the doing of what I really want to do.
Glad you’re here, Mark!
#3 is my favorite. I think that it would be really valuable for readers to see more about your branding of The Blissful. You had a strong p.o.v. for your store and it worked. It really set the store apart from others. I wonder if people are aware of how to run a detailed (and consistent) thread throughout the various aspects of their businesses (the look, the marketing pieces, the voice, the product, etc.). (This also reminds me of the idea in the Havi Brooks link you recently posted on FB.)
#3 is my favorite. I think that it would be really valuable for readers to see more about your branding of The Blissful. You had a strong p.o.v. for your store and it worked. It really set the store apart from others. I wonder if people are aware of how to run a detailed (and consistent) thread throughout the various aspects of their businesses (the look, the marketing pieces, the voice, the product, etc.). (This also reminds me of the idea in the Havi Brooks link you recently posted on FB.)
That’s a good idea. How I Nichified THE BLISSFUL. Hmm. That’d be tough to break down because it came so intrinsically to me and I felt like I just understood what the business needed to be from the inside out. But that’d be a pretty powerful post if I could figure out how to break it down for someone else to apply to their business.
That’s a good idea. How I Nichified THE BLISSFUL. Hmm. That’d be tough to break down because it came so intrinsically to me and I felt like I just understood what the business needed to be from the inside out. But that’d be a pretty powerful post if I could figure out how to break it down for someone else to apply to their business.
I’m pretty partial to #7 but I could be biased. But I’ve recently been working on point #8 and it feels. so. good. Sometimes removing, changing, or adding one small element can make you move from hum-drum to extraordinary feeling.
I’m pretty partial to #7 but I could be biased. But I’ve recently been working on point #8 and it feels. so. good. Sometimes removing, changing, or adding one small element can make you move from hum-drum to extraordinary feeling.
Hey, Dawn —
I was hoping you’d stop by. :)
Regarding #8 {slough off a layer of your biz that feels dry and un-juicy to you}, at what point do you think it’s wise to start looking at doing that? Someone recently called me the First Lady of Niche-y-ness but even I am a tad concerned about going nichier. There’s anxiety around eliminating a service that “someone” might have been just waiting for the right time to get from me. But I guess it goes back to where your/my true wanting lies. If I don’t feel enthused about providing a certain service, then it’s probably best to cut it. Hmm.
— Abby
Hey, Dawn —
I was hoping you’d stop by. :)
Regarding #8 {slough off a layer of your biz that feels dry and un-juicy to you}, at what point do you think it’s wise to start looking at doing that? Someone recently called me the First Lady of Niche-y-ness but even I am a tad concerned about going nichier. There’s anxiety around eliminating a service that “someone” might have been just waiting for the right time to get from me. But I guess it goes back to where your/my true wanting lies. If I don’t feel enthused about providing a certain service, then it’s probably best to cut it. Hmm.
— Abby
I am really working and very conscious of #2. Since starting this work with you I have finally “gotten” the niche thing. Like CLICK OOOOOOOOh I get it! I have really been working on analyzing who my customers at my antique store are, what they buy and show an interest in. At this point it seems to be women in the 40+ range that consistently buy items. I have a dealer that rents space from me (its an antique mall situation with a few different dealers) and primarily deals in books. People that buy books seem to be mostly men and they tend to spend a little more. I don’t know…. this is all so interesting. I have had the store for 5 years and I have felt I need a little of everything. Obviously that is not right. The other thing I have noticed is sooooo many people compliment the store on its displays and presentation of goods. That it is clean and not “Junky” looking, that the window display is eye catching and bring people in——-but then these same people don’t purchase anything and that is the point—-I’m trying
I am really working and very conscious of #2. Since starting this work with you I have finally “gotten” the niche thing. Like CLICK OOOOOOOOh I get it! I have really been working on analyzing who my customers at my antique store are, what they buy and show an interest in. At this point it seems to be women in the 40+ range that consistently buy items. I have a dealer that rents space from me (its an antique mall situation with a few different dealers) and primarily deals in books. People that buy books seem to be mostly men and they tend to spend a little more. I don’t know…. this is all so interesting. I have had the store for 5 years and I have felt I need a little of everything. Obviously that is not right. The other thing I have noticed is sooooo many people compliment the store on its displays and presentation of goods. That it is clean and not “Junky” looking, that the window display is eye catching and bring people in——-but then these same people don’t purchase anything and that is the point—-I’m trying
Hey, Nicki —
I’m thrilled to hear that you’re tapping into the nichification lying latent in your own biz. That’s excellent!
I’m going to push you a teensy bit around the idea of your right people. You say you’ve identified two distinct groups: 1} 40+ year old women who consistently buy {what?} and 2} men who buy books and tend to spend a bit more than the average ticket. Awesome.
Now. Look at these 40+ year old women. WHAT do they come to you for that is BIGGER than just the items they buy? Same thing with the men who buy books. What lifestyle or feeling are they trying to stay connected to? Tap into that and you’re tapping into a streambed of gold.
Glad you’re here reading, Nicki, and thanks for telling me where the value is so far for you! :)
Hey, Nicki —
I’m thrilled to hear that you’re tapping into the nichification lying latent in your own biz. That’s excellent!
I’m going to push you a teensy bit around the idea of your right people. You say you’ve identified two distinct groups: 1} 40+ year old women who consistently buy {what?} and 2} men who buy books and tend to spend a bit more than the average ticket. Awesome.
Now. Look at these 40+ year old women. WHAT do they come to you for that is BIGGER than just the items they buy? Same thing with the men who buy books. What lifestyle or feeling are they trying to stay connected to? Tap into that and you’re tapping into a streambed of gold.
Glad you’re here reading, Nicki, and thanks for telling me where the value is so far for you! :)
There is an inherent fear of turning away clients. People just aren’t used to saying “no thanks” to income. It can often be a leap of fate when you drill down deep into your niche.
The main thing people need to remember, is that if you have no niche you are spread so thin when it comes to trying to things like figuring out how your audience thinks, or what they want.
There is an inherent fear of turning away clients. People just aren’t used to saying “no thanks” to income. It can often be a leap of fate when you drill down deep into your niche.
The main thing people need to remember, is that if you have no niche you are spread so thin when it comes to trying to things like figuring out how your audience thinks, or what they want.
Very good point, Dawn. And I can honestly say that in all of the interviews I’ve listened to and posts I’ve read from *successful* internet biz people, not ONE of them said, “I wish I hadn’t drawn my niche so tightly,” or “I wish I’d been more of a generalist.” NOT ONE.
But almost all of them say, “The money started to flow in when I focused more aggressively on my right people.”
Very good point, Dawn. And I can honestly say that in all of the interviews I’ve listened to and posts I’ve read from *successful* internet biz people, not ONE of them said, “I wish I hadn’t drawn my niche so tightly,” or “I wish I’d been more of a generalist.” NOT ONE.
But almost all of them say, “The money started to flow in when I focused more aggressively on my right people.”