Ditch the niche.
How I got sick of the typical online marketing message and created my own brand that broke all the rules.
I have many titles, one of them is entrepreneur.
Some other titles are: published author, lux retreat leader, magazine writer, micro-influencer and small biz/ lifestyle coach.
Truth is I’m a multi-passionate entrepreneur who struggled for years to find my calling. I had a feeling I might be an entrepreneur and loved the idea of being location independent, yet when I turned to the online marketing world for insight, the message was the same at every turn: you can only be a success if you find a niche, the more narrow the better.
Only for someone like me, someone who feels they simply can't be locked into one thing- that advice doesn't work. In fact, there's a whole lot of multi-passionate folks out there (they are also called multi- hyphenates, polymaths, multi- potentialites, ENFP's, INFP's and enneagram 7's that make up about 12% of the population who are also struggling big time with this niche down message).
To tell this personality type to focus narrowly on one thing is like saying, "hey, you can't be yourself or you're going to fail. I promise."
That's tough to hear.
Luckily, I didn’t listen to that advice and I hope you don’t either.
Try this instead
Traditional marketing asks you to find a hole in the market and then solve a problem to fill that need. That might have worked back in the day when markets were more local. But now that we have a virtual marketplace, those holes are pretty much non-existent (unless you are a true inventor, like say, Bill Gates). Instead of asking where there's a hole in the market, try this instead: Ask yourself this simple question: what do I want to do?
Then, instead of inventing a telenovela on your my ICA (or ideal client avatar as the digital marketing gurus call it), simply ask yourself: who do I want to work with?
Turns out the second question is often WAY easier to answer than the first.
Look, I couldn't guess what Netflix show my customer is watching or if she’s a single mom with two kids and a lab, but I can describe my ideal client like this: She's smart, she's into personal growth. She's in business. She appreciates style. She likes to travel. She is willing to invest in herself. She is also a multi-passionate entrepreneur. She has lots of great ideas, but really needs help focusing on which ones will bring the most joy and profit. She loves to learn, but all the online info is overwhelming. She’s needs to know what to do and in what in order.
And that's what I do, I help multi-passionate female entrepreneurs figure out exactly how to do just that.
My clients don’t care that I’m not an expert in one micro- niche. In fact, they appreciate that I don’t do just one thing.
Two benefits to ditching the niche
Your multi-passionate clients will appreciate your success and feel they can also be successful without doing just one thing.
When the market gets too niche, it becomes UNHELPFUL. True story- I was speaking to a potential client who recently hired a sales funnel coach. About a third of the way through the client started to feel unsure of her path. She was struggling. When she expressed her concern, the sales funnel coach said, I don’t help people with clarity, you need a clarity coach for that. Say what? It’s kind of like going to the doctor and being sent to specialist after specialist. No one can help because they can’t see the big picture and eventually one of two things happens. The patient might eventually find the right micro niched person to help them, or they might just give up during the search. Taking it back to the case of the entrepreneur, we can’t always afford to hire experts for every single problem. Let me be clear, sometimes you need a specialized knowledge. But not every entrepreneur is cut out to be so narrow. The market ALSO needs more GENERALISTS. Someone who can look at the person and his/her business as a WHOLE to help them move the needle.
The hard truth is that it’s easier to market one thing, but for those who can’t be locked into one thing, there are two key factors that can really help you find success.
Two key factors to success
Key Factor #1:
Create an umbrella brand or umbrella message. Let me explain using my business as an example. My brand is called Sweet Spot Style. The umbrella message is that I help entrepreneurial women make money doing creative work they love.
Key Factor #2:
Under my brand, I work with one type of person, that’s my ideal client (as I describe above).
Here’s where it gets good.
Once you have a created the umbrella brand who serves one type of client, you can go CRAZY creating multiple streams of income (as long as it fits the two key factors).
For me, that means I write home decor books, I lead luxury retreats for coaches, artists and interior designers, I work with clothing and interior brands, and I am a coach/ mentor. I have a lot of titles and I’m never limited by them because there’s so much flexibility under my big beautiful umbrella brand.
How about you?
Now, I’d love to hear from you.
What do you want to do?
Who do you want to do it with?
What is your umbrella brand and message?
What are your multiple streams of income under that brand?
Finally, please know- there's nothing wrong with you. You CAN be a success and do more than one thing. You just have to think outside the box, and luckily for you that’s what you’re best at!
xo Desha
p.s. Need some help creating you umbrella brand? Book a free 20 min consult here. We’ll figure it out together.