Specialising vs generalising, which one is best for your business?

Do you shudder when people tell you to find a niche? It's not an easy thing to do for many of us. I couldn't find my niche without a lot of help and self-development.

So many of us deliberate over whether we should specialise in a specific skill or sector, and then struggle defining who our ideal client is.

Defining what your niche is might fill you with dread, bringing up memories of being asked when you were a kid: "what do you want to be when you grow up?"

We all need to pay the bills first so often look for something that pays us, rather than something we love, and by doing this, we can often overlook what we're passionate about doing.

Many of us are still trying to find our specialism or "niche" however; there are many factors at play that stop us from seeing it.

Are the riches really in the niches?

Now in 2019, I feel there are so many more options out there for business owners. There are so many more case studies of people launching successful businesses. However, I still feel many aren't promoting all their skills or allowing themselves to set bigger goals.  Also, many people struggle to work out what sector or audience their specialism should be.

Here are 11 pieces of advice on finding your niche or specialism.

Have you considered what you already know now?  All that experience? Don't discount it even if you have retrained, you still have so much more to offer than the course you've just done.

Get some clarity on what you want without setting boundaries. If money wasn't an issue, what would you want to do?

If you know what you want to do, think about what's stopping you? What things could you put in place to achieve what you want to do?

Allow yourself time. A lot of entrepreneurs and businesses didn't pick their niche upfront. Often niches are discovered over time. So don't give yourself a hard time if you don't know exactly what it is right now.

Learn to self-coach. Advice and coaching helps but only you can answer what you want to specialise in - you can get advice from others, but ultimately it's more likely to be successful if it's something you want to do.

It's ok to change your mind. The way tech and entrepreneurship are evolving we have to innovate. Don't be a slave to "I must stay in this job or profession for the rest of my life", that's what previous generations did, we don't have to now.

Invest in a coach. I wish I'd had coaching years ago to get to the bottom of what I wanted and what motivated me. I'm a coach who believes in the process and I will always invest in coaching.

Get to the bottom of your why. Why are you doing this? Why do you do what you do? Why would it help your customers?

Don't let logistical limitations stand in your way. These days there are so many more jobs we can do from anywhere(ok not all jobs), but every year it's getting easier to do what you want to do from anywhere.

Don't create a glass ceiling for yourself. Many women do this. Allow yourself to dream big, aim higher and set goals.

Try not to go with the crowd, stay in your lane instead. Try and avoid "comparisonitis" (overly comparing yourself to others), we all do it, be inspired by others but focus on what you want first.

Allowing yourself to find your specialism or the thing that makes you tick is critical here, we often are the ones putting barriers in our way.

I'm a marketing coach and mentor; my passion is to help you grow in confidence in digital marketing to get more visible and increase your sales. Book a free call to find out more about how I can help you.