Now, I’m not saying there isn’t anyone else out there doing what you do. I’m saying that there is no such thing as competition in the sense that a competitor can drive you out of business.

Sometimes, we have a vision of marketing that we need to be standing on a street corner with a bull horn shouting about your business to anyone that will listen.

Really, what we need to do is come at it from the other direction. Choosing a specific niche of people to market your products to, is going to give you a smaller group of people to be in front of, allowing you to forget the bull horn. And, I know this seems counter-intuitive - shrinking the people you reach in your business… especially when all you want is income flow and clients and customers seeking you out.

But - choosing this specific group of people is going to help you really reach them and connect with them - rather than yelling through a bull horn and hoping someone will listen.  And, your niche isn’t “small.” A good niche, has at least 10,000 people in it - not too shabby!

So, instead of trying to cast a really large net over a really large group of people and hope you reach someone, you’re actually going to be starting in the center of a smaller group of people that WILL be interested in what you’re offering. You can really get to know members of your niche - make connections - build relationships - and meet their needs.

Yes - there are always going to be other people doing what you do. But, as solo business owners, we can’t possibly serve everyone that needs what we offer. I mean, if I was the only business coach on the planet, I’d be out of my mind crazy busy - and probably not providing very good service to the millions of people that seek business coaching every year.

But - I’ve focused my niche - solo-preneurs who own spiritually conscious businesses - I stay sane, I’m building relationships and I truly serve my clients. And, I’m not the only one that does what I do. My very own coach targets this niche as well. And, I know several other business coaches who target this niche. They are lovely people and I enjoy hanging out with them - and sometimes referring business to them.

We all speak to our niches differently - and actually - we all focus on slightly different aspects of business. Your authentic voice and the way you work with your clients and customers is going to help you hone in on what you do as your business evolves.

What thoughts do you have on competition? What has been your experience with others in your same business? Do you feel anxious about narrowing your niche?

This entry was posted on Friday, December 21st, 2007 at 2:05 pm and is filed under Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.