Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 43 seconds.

TODAY’S IDEA: The New Niche

— From LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer’s Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible by Jeffrey Shaw

In today’s world, where we often hear that we must “niche down,” because “the riches are in the niches,” Jeffrey Shaw, entrepreneur, coach, podcaster, and author of Lingo, says, “Ditch the niche and diversify!”

Whaaaaaat??!

He explains: “It’s not that niche marketing is inherently bad; it just needs to be redefined.”

He goes on to say that most of us, as the creative thinkers that we are (creative here defined very broadly), “need freedom from the shackles of a tightly narrowed offering and market. We’re multipassionate warriors and we don’t want to be stuck doing one thing.”

So, what should we do about this?

In Jeff’s podcast and community of Creative Warriors, he refers to following all our passions as chasing squirrels. I own a dog who has tried to climb trees to chase squirrels (!) so I know how crazy this can get… Further, as an entrepreneur myself and a mentor for startups and small businesses, I know that our business minds tend to chase many squirrels too: the (in)famous shiny-object syndrome or SOS that tends to distract and derail us if kept unchecked.

Shaw says, “I’m not saying chasing squirrels is productive. But I am saying the creative thinker is going to do it anyway. Rather than make them feel ‘sinful’ for something inherent in being creative, why not figure out how it can be productive? We can make it productive by using the connections between them to unite the squirrels into a herd and then setting that herd off in a productive direction. We can cultivate a new niche.”

And here’s the key to the New Niche: “The New Niche is not the one thing you do or the one segment of a market you serve. The New Niche is the space you own, or, you could say, the area of expertise for which you are known.”

Note here that Shaw said “area,” because your expertise includes many things, so it’s not just constrained to the one thing you do.

“Space is expansive, even limitless as far as we know and so are the possibilities and creative freedom you have when you become known for the space you own. When you or your business are recognized for the space you own, you gain creative freedom. With clarity about the space you own, you can diversify your business and create multiple streams of income.”

Shaw goes on to explain the idea of the New Niche and the meaning of owning a space: “The space you own—as a solo creative entrepreneur or as a company—is what you are known for. It answers this all-important, fundamental question: Of what will your ideal customers say you are the expert?”

Further, Shaw urges us to imagine overhearing the tail end of a conversation on the street in which a person asks another one for a referral, “Oh, [your name or name of business] is the go-to expert for ___________.”

Fill in that blank. “If you don’t know almost immediately how to fill in that blank, then you don’t own a space yet.”

In his podcast, Creative Warriors, Shaw interviewed Christopher Lochhead, co-author of the book Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets. Lochhead refers to owning your space as being a Category King and emphasizes “the importance of not only being the ‘king’ of a category but also being the first in that category.”

To this, Shaw says, “Being the Category King can certainly give you an advantage. However, for many entrepreneurs, it’s less important to be first. It’s more important to create a unique category for which you can be recognized and stand out.”

So, what is your New Niche? Let me know in the comments here.

ACTION

TODAY: Answer this question about yourself or your business: “Oh, [your name or name of business] is the go-to expert for ___________.” What is the space you own? What is that New Niche of yours? If the answer comes easily, congrats! If not, no worries, give yourself time to think and to come up with the best answer for you.

FUTURE: Claim that space as yours… it is indeed! Make sure you are passionate about it, and that it is marketable, and you’ll be golden. Here are some additional posts on this subject: How to apply the Law of the Category to your benefit and Own a word in the prospect’s mind.

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