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"How do I find my niche?"

Sheps

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I've seen a lot of these sorts of questions in the fortnight or so I've been here, generally from people who joined that day and want someone to hand them a business. People who invariably go quiet and probably don't do anything. (Hope not to be included in that group, time will tell).

Moving on...

I thought this thread could be a >see title< for beginners. So those dudes who really are going to do "it" but just need a little bit of guidance and a nudge in the right direction can get it.
Maybe your advice is business specific, maybe you build apps or are in property but, at least it's all in one place.

If I'm stepping on my own, or someone else's dick here please let me.



I'll start.

About 5 minutes ago I was thinking, "I don't really have any solid advice to give in this thread I'm starting, I sort of just fell into my niche idea."

Eugh, he's one of those. Alright you muppet, how did that happen?!

"Oh, well I made something I needed, for me..."

That's the advice, idiot. *facepalm*.

Make something for yourself because you can't find it out there. If you need/want it, someone else does too.

P.s. I promise my threads won't all suck this hard... Probably not... Well maybe... Eh, no guarantee.
 
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David Young

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Nothing wrong with saying how you see it. Im certainly guilty of looking for the next big that everyone wants, forgetting that I fall in that category and what i need might just be it! Thanks for the prompt.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Andy Black

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I've seen a lot of these sorts of questions in the fortnight or so I've been here, generally from people who joined that day and want someone to hand them a business. People who invariably go quiet and probably don't do anything. (Hope not to be included in that group, time will tell).

Moving on...

I thought this thread could be a >see title< for beginners. So those dudes who really are going to do "it" but just need a little bit of guidance and a nudge in the right direction can get it.
Maybe your advice is business specific, maybe you build apps or are in property but, at least it's all in one place.

If I'm stepping on my own, or someone else's dick here please let me.



I'll start.

About 5 minutes ago I was thinking, "I don't really have any solid advice to give in this thread I'm starting, I sort of just fell into my niche idea."

Eugh, he's one of those. Alright you muppet, how did that happen?!

"Oh, well I made something I needed, for me..."

That's the advice, idiot. *facepalm*.

Make something for yourself because you can't find it out there. If you need/want it, someone else does too.

P.s. I promise my threads won't all suck this hard... Probably not... Well maybe... Eh, no guarantee.
Good for you.

You joined two weeks ago and spot that a lot of other new members ask for things to be handed to them on a plate, then watch them disappear.

You observe they are consumers.

You decide to be a producer instead, and provide value up front by giving advice on what's worked for you.

I like your style, humour, and tags in your OP.

Thanks for posting and welcome to team producer.
 

Supa

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Welcome to the forum! I like your way of viewing things, a good way of finding a need is to simply ask yourself what would you need, then see if there is a potential market for it. I started the business I'm working on in the music market, because (as a music producer) I asked what would I and other people I know in this market need.
 
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DamienP

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Honestly I do not believe there is any set process for finding a niche. I think it varies from person to person.

My path requires that I come up with niche ideas all the time. Sometimes I sit myself in a darkened room and think like crazy, and come up with some really good ideas. Then I whittle them down to about 10% of the original list using a process of elimination. Finally, I try to imagine myself actually selling the products, and ask myself the key questions:

  • Is there a need in the market for this product? Does it introduce value?
  • Will people ACTUALLY buy it, and at what price?
Other times, an idea just hits me out of the blue. These ideas are usually the best, and the ones I get most excited about. I'm working on one of those now.
 

Christiano

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I look at niche and consider identifying niche more of a "middle" step. The right direction doesn't come from others, it comes from you.

When problem solving, once you identify the problem, then turn your back to it in order to look at the solution. Once you understand the solution you have envisioned, you ask who this applies to and that would be your niche sir :)

The problem is that people don't know how to think to understand what solutions resonate with them to discover. Try this:

1) Take some time and empty your mind of any sense of obligation whether it be financial, social, or from yourself. Blank slate.
2) Now look at the world. Watch yourself looking at the world. Watch your thoughts. Ignore the ones about worrying for this brief time.
3) Notice your thoughts gravitate to an area of interest - that's good. Doesn't need to be business related. Just watch.
4) When you find an area which can be anything: music, cars, business, women, travel, food, etc. Ask yourself these questions:
a) What do I like about this?
b) What do I not like about this?​
5) Focus on what you don't like. Ask why? Ask what paradigm drives the existence of that? Ask if that paradigm didn't exist, would that serve others as well as yourself?

If after asking those questions, you ascertain that something DOES NOT make sense, explore it. What is required to change it? What do you need to learn to do that?

These set of questions help me come up with my ideas. When asking them, the tough part is letting go of self-imposed limitations like: I don't know how or I don't have the money or I don't have the time. The fact of the matter is:

1) We have access to the majority of humanities information at our fingertips
2) Plenty of money out there. With that said, the concept of a minimum viable product often enables you to learn what you need to know, if more money is needed, people have it, find them, find out what they want and either deliver or learn how to deliver.
3) Time is something we are all born with. It is ours. We spend it as we choose.

Hope this helps in providing some form of structure. Happy to clarify any points here.

Cheers,

Christiano
 
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Andy Black

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Who can you help? What can you help them with?

I knew I'd never sit with a manual and go through it step by step when I wanted to learn how to build websites. Instead, I found someone who desperately needed more work, and offered to build them a website. (You can read that story here.)

I've progressed by constantly trying to help people, and observing where my help has had the biggest impact.

Think about who you have helped in the past, and who you enjoy helping.

What did you help them with? Are there more people who need that help too? Is anyone getting paid to help them?


Demonstrated Cashflows

Some people might say their market is all the women in New York between the ages of 25 and 45 who love tennis and have kids. That's not a market though, that's a demographic.

One of the podcasts on www.tropicalmba.com defines a market as a "demonstrated cashflow".

Some businesses/people use Shopify as their eCommerce store. Being a Shopify customer means they are already dipping their hand in their pocket every month. That is a demonstrated cashflow. Hence the emergence of "shopify ninjas", etc.

I stick with B2B, since business owners can (often) see spend as an investment. If they make/save $2k when they spend $1k with you, then that's a good argument to buy.

World-wide, businesses pay a lot of money to generate new business. They hire sales and marketing people. They spend money on websites, paid advertising, PR, content marketing, etc.

A few years back I heard that Google makes $100m/day revenue from AdWords. That's a big demonstrated cashflow that I can attach myself too. If you're spending on AdWords, you often don't mind spending a bit more to get more bang for your buck.

Follow "demonstrated cashflows".



Product-Founder Fit

Dan Norris mentions this in his book "The 7 Day Startup". (Great wee book btw.)

He thinks too many people just think of product-market fit, and don't think about their own skill levels, experience in business, strengths/weaknesses, and likes/dislikes.

Think about what you tend towards, and what ends up on the bottom of your to-do list even though it's important.

Think about what activities give you energy, and what drain you.





Additional reading
 
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Andy Black

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Chitown

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My path requires that I come up with niche ideas all the time. Sometimes I sit myself in a darkened room and think like crazy, and come up with some really good ideas. Then I whittle them down to about 10% of the original list using a process of elimination. Finally, I try to imagine myself actually selling the products, and ask myself the key questions:

@DamienP,

I believe this is one of Noah Kagan's processes, as well.
 

Chitown

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DaRK9

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I stopped trying to think up new innovative products, and have been making existing products/services better.

Takes away the whole "is there a buying market?" question.
 

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