To Niche—Or Not To Niche?
Since I established myself as a Brand Stylist for businesses rooted in beauty, wellness, and lifestyle, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about why I went this route and how I make it work. To start—it wasn’t an easy decision for me to make at all and took a lot of back & forth on my end before I decided to fully commit. Niching can be scary at first and I definitely wouldn’t say that it’s for everyone.
WHY I DECIDED TO NICHE
I decided to niche in beauty and wellness because I noticed a pattern in the work I was doing. Not only were business owners & influencers within these industries already gravitating to me on their own—I really enjoy the work I create with them as well. While this was a pattern that started organically during my first couple years in business, I wanted to make it a bit more intentional and decided it was time to make it official.
HOW I MADE NICHING WORK FOR MY BIZ
It took a few months of playing with the idea rather than fully committing—this was purely out of fear of alienating people rather than embracing my unique strengths when it comes to beauty branding. After I saw an uptick in my leads and engagement relating to the beauty + wellness industry, I knew it was time to stop playing the sidelines and go all in with this. Now, I make it work but maintaining my commitment to my niche, making it really crystal clear who I am to serve, and continue to educate myself on what business owners in the beauty + wellness industry truly need to thrive in a competitive market.
PERKS TO NICHING
When you decide to niche, your target audience becomes that much smaller and easier to reach. You know what they say—when you try to speak to everyone, you end up actually speaking to no one at all. So the more specific you can get about who you want to market towards, the more intentional you can get with the content you’re producing for them.
Another perk to niching? You suddenly go from a small fish in a big pond to a bright, bold, and easy to notice fish in an even smaller pond. While I loved the work I did with businesses outside of my current niche, it was often a struggle to stand out amongst a sea of other graphic/web designers that do exactly what I do with a wide range of clientele as well. Now that I niche in very specific industries, it almost makes it a no brainer for the business owners that resonate and relate with my expertise with their passions. Think about it, when you have a problem with your skin, you go to a dermatologist vs. a general practitioner right? There’s an ease + value that comes from working with a specialist who you can trust knows their shit, vs. a generalist who knows a little about a lot of things.
Considering niching in the near future? Be sure to ask yourself these 3 questions first:
What do I love to do most within my line of work?
What unique value can I bring to my dream clients with my level of expertise?
Am I okay with working with a specific type of client 100% of the time?
If you struggle to answer those 3 questions, don’t feel bad about it. While it can have some major perks, I’m fully aware that niching really isn’t the cure-all for any business owner. If you feel restricted or like you’re putting yourself inside of a creative box instead of expanding the ways you can help others, you probably are better off not niching. Honestly, sometimes it takes a lot of trial & error, research, and experience to feel like you’re fully ready to commit to a certain niche—so don’t feel bad or behind if it doesn’t seem to click for you right away.
When you’re done weighing out the pro’s and con’s, I’m sure you’ll still have a few questions—so don’t hesitate to drop them in the comments below!
