Tip #7: Strive to Create Your Own Niche
Besides being yourself, how can you gain an edge on your competition? One way is to try and define the space you operate in, such that no direct competition currently exists.
This doesn’t mean you’re inventing a new service or product exactly. It’s more about how you define what you do. If you do this right, you’ll end up with a new term that is synonymous with you or your business.
For example, Chris Guillebeau wanted to write generally about “being awesome.” Instead of referring to his blog as yet another personal development blog, he decided to write under the concept of nonconformity. His blog is called The Art of Nonconformity. This has worked very well for him. He was able to become a professional blogger after just nine months, which is an amazingly short time-frame for a full-length essay blogger.
Defining your own niche is something that Chris Garrett has stressed to me, and that I’ve heard from Chris Brogan and others on numerous occasions. If you can do it right, your brand can take on a life of its own. Tim Ferriss has been phenomenally successful since defining the term “lifestyle design” in his book. Now every time someone writes about the topic, Tim is likely to get a mention (or at least mind share from readers).
It’s not just for writers, speakers and bloggers, either. If you’re creating a product or service, the power of defining your own niche can work for you too. The real benefit comes from not only defining the niche, but in applying a label that catches on with people.
Create your own niche: A big part of why I was able to get so many clients so quickly when I went off on my own is because of the skills I have and how I apply them. I am a graphic designer, illustrator, web develop, motion graphics artist, copy writer, social media marketer and sustainability consultant. I don’t need all of these skills for each job, so I usually only bring up the ones that are directly applicable to the task at hand, but when I tell a potential client that not only can I design the site for them, but I’ll also get it live, market it and make sure that the accompanying business cards and stationery are made from post-consumer waste and vegetable oil ink (and all for a total price that is much lower than if each piece of the puzzle was farmed out separately), that’s a value-proposition that’s hard to pass up.
Colin Wright, Exile Lifestyle *
Become an agent for industries not traditionally represented by agents. Through my past experience owning and running a web development company (with offices and employees, not this freelance, one guy in his underwear stuff) and now with my ad agency, I’ve discovered a huge gap in the ability for designers and developers to price jobs and put together deals… even when they have steady referral business coming in. So, I’m implementing a program where I sign freelancers and small design/dev companies to act as their agent. This aligns with my existing company, but I could easily see it applied to other things and in a standalone capacity. The fee is of course based on the standardized practice of a percentage of the billing. I think of it as literary agent for designers.
Andrew MacPherson, Jet Atomic *
