Listen above or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show Notes:
This week I shared my thoughts on niching beyond private practice and at the end I gave you a small list of niches I think we need more of you to create programs and services around.
Keep reading for a summary of what I talked about.
Niching beyond private practice is SO different from niching to fill a practice.
You CAN fill your traditional private practice without a narrow niche. Once you move into the global online space, you are likely to need a narrow niche.
What's a niche?
A niche is a problem your person is trying to solve.
An identity or community is not a niche, but an identity or community can be a huge ingredient of a niche.
Here's why:
Even if you came up with a group for 49 year old white cis queer women who are parents by both adoption and birth, live upstairs from their sisters, and are Elton John fans, I would not join until you told me what problem you're helping us solve.
(That describes me, if you didn't guess.)
That said, identity can be a HUGE part of what goes into your niche.
Just look at the amazing work of Dr. JaNae Taylor, who helps Black entrepreneurs create wellness in community in her company: Minding My Black Business.
Here are a small number of real niche examples from folks who have been through Rebel Therapist programs:
Tia Hackett has a couples workshops for people who need help with communication and may not have access to or time for couples therapy.
Monica McClain-Reese helps couples learn to manage their money together.
Maureen Cotton helps couples plan unique and powerful ceremonies without succumbing to the Wedding Industrial Complex.
Liz Adams helps women with ADHD who have dreams they're not living yet.
Kelsi McMartin helps parents of kiddos who have recently come out as nonbinary or trans.
Caitlin Olsen helps progressive mormon women figure out their path.
Staci Boden has a group coaching program to help recovering type-A change makers and leaders to follow energy instead of pushing and controlling.
Valerie DiLuggo has a program helping straight single women create joyful whole lives as they take a break from dating for a reset.
Samantha fox has a program helping women who are coming out as lesbian or queer later in life.
Katie Nasherson runs a program helping people rebuild their lives after a tragedy or devastating event.
Jesse Kaufman helps private practice therapists overcome visibility barriers to authentically market their work with video.
I'll be sharing more examples soon.
Here's why you should have a narrow enough niche:
So you stand out and come to mind in a global online space when that niche is talked about, even if your audience is not huge yet.
If you've got a huge audience already, you don't need this advice. Hey Oprah, Brene, and Glennon. What's up?!
Some fears may come up for you around niching, and what I want to tell you about each one.
Fear: I'll choose the wrong niche.
Tell that fear: You are not making a permanent decision.
Fear: I'll be bored.
Tell that fear: When you go narrow, you get to do some deep work. You'll still be doing a lot of different things with your participants.
Fear: There's too much competition.
Tell that fear: You can't actually take that niche on all by yourself. Also, some folks would prefer to work with YOU.
Fear: Niching doesn't feel like freedom to me.
Tell that fear: Try using a vague niche and see how it goes! Choose a narrower niche when you're ready.
One possibility for people who hate niching: Start with a broad niche and sell your program based on your reputation with your network. Then narrow your niche so that you can sustain your business over time.
Here are some filters to run a niche through to see if it might work:
The people with this problem know they have this problem. You're not trying to convince them that this issue is a problem.
They have already tried things to solve this problem. Perhaps they've done other programs already, read books, or paid money in some way to solve it.
You have talked to actual people who have this problem. It's not based on a made-up avatar.
You can easily describe this niche in one sentence. If you need to go on for several paragraphs, you're not there yet!
This niche passes the "cousin test."
When you tell someone about your niche, a particular person comes to mind, perhaps their cousin or neighbor or friend. You hear "I know who will hire you" rather than "Oh that sounds really cool. I bet everyone needs that."
This niche brings you joy, at least some of the time. If working on or talking about this problem causes you pain or harm, move on.
You have a LOT to say about this niche. You could sit down and think of 50 topics, tips or ideas to share with the people who deal with this problem.
Bonus: If solving this problem is on your person's to-do list, that's even better.
Let's look at some fictional Niche Makeovers as examples:
vague: I help women through transitions
more viable: I help women through breakups
vague: I help people who are dealing with difficult problems at home or at work.
more viable: I help parents who are struggling with their 5 to 10 year old kid's behavior.
vague: I help people use intuition to make better choices.
more viable: I help people use intuition to manage their feelings and choices around money.
vague: I help women be their best selves.
more viable: I help white women stop behaving in racist ways.
Your first step in figuring out your niche and turning it into a business:
Listen to real people within this niche.
You can talk in real time or through surveys, email or by mining your memory bank.
If you're thinking about past therapy clients who are within this niche, mine your memory bank instead of directly asking them. That would be unethical.
Some of the questions to ask:
How would you describe the problem? What do you think the solution looks like? What have you already tried to solve this problem? What happened with those attempts? What (besides price) would make a program a no brainer for you?
Listen.
All of this listening will help you create your pilot offer and your marketing.
Don't half-ass this niche research.
It is the most important foundational work for creating a great offer.
HOWEVER, don't fall into procrastination or perfectionism.
This world needs your ethical micro business.
Just a few niches I'm not seeing enough (not even nearly exhaustive):
Please create a program around one of these topics! I'm only naming big rough niches here, so there are many specific niches possible within each one.
Sex
Parents with kids who have specific issues
Managers and bosses
Blended families
Friendship
Housemates
Business partners
