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Pick a niche. Can you "Follow your passion" there?

Santi M

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Hello, Fastlaners

it's 22 pm here in Spain and I got some time to write this post, as I want to know your opinion because "Follow your passion" is a complicated subject here.

I've been thinking this weekend about the process of picking a niche. I listened to a lot of information about this, what niche should you pick, why... Some people say that you have to identify a problem and then you'll see the niche in which that problem or need is into, other people say that you have to pick a niche that you are passionate about and then solve a problem or need that you find in it, others say you have to pick a niche as potential as possible (depending on the people inside that niche and their overall behavior) regardless of whether you like it or not or your interest in it, etc.

So my question is: What do you think? Would you pick a niche you like and then find problems or needs in it, or would you look for problems everywhere and "adapt" to the niche you find the problem you're going to solve?

Looking forward to your points of view,

Santi.
 
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Devampre

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Picking a niche is difficult if one succumbs to something like the paradox of choice (analysis paralysis.) You could invent a new niche entirely, pick something you're "passionate" about, try the latest trending niches based on Google. Ultimately, my opinion is this "All ways of choosing a niche, directly or indirectly, are both good and bad. For it is the market that will decide if you are giving value"

Slavoj Zizek has a quote in The Pervert's Guide to Ideology that goes something along the lines of, "I am already eating from the trashcan all of the time. The name of this trashcan is ideology." This quote is resonating with me now while I read Unscripted . But, before I go way off the rails here, let me try to bring this back... Forget everything you know about different categories of niches or what a niche even is. Remove niche from your vocabulary entirely (just for now.)

First focus on people, observe their dead wishes, pains, struggles and so on. It is here where opportunity can be detected. Pretend these people are close family that you love and care for. What can you do to help them. (It's important here to remember that "just give them money" is not a tangible solution. I can expand on the why, but I believe it is obvious with a simple hypothetical example like giving a homeless heroin addict an extra $1000 a month. This would often do little more than supply them with more heroin.)

Why listen to my post? Because I too, like most humans eat from the trashcan of ideology (at least to some degree.) I myself want to find the perfect niche. I want to bring people value and snowball my efforts to help even more people. I want to feel like I "know my purpose." But, the reality is that there is no perfect or even neat way about achieving these "selfish" desires. (And if there is, please educate me, I don't claim to know everything.) I've written lists, I've talked with some people and I still am lost-ish. Yes, lost-ish isn't a word. I just mean I embrace uncertainty. I know my general approach to what I wish to do, but I lack the specific details as the future is unknown.

If you're still with me on this unrevised, rosé-fuelled rant; I hope that I've given a understandable opinion on the questions being asked.
 

MHP368

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You should absolutely be looking for problems to solve

If you "pick a niche" and then try to "find a problem" thats like a scientist only looking for evidence that already agrees with their hypothesis.

Think about it, bob likes racecars, bob picks that niche, bob manufactures a "need" or "problem" involving racecars and goes forward with it, bob fails hard.

Why? because he wasn't listening to the market, he was shoehorning himself in and trying to find something to add, not that this would never work, its just that your stacking the odds against you, you're own love for the thing will make you overestimate demand and pricing and all sorts of key criteria for business making decisions. You'll be emotionally invested in making something work.

Whereas if bob just trains himself to look for opportunities in the shape of frustrations and the like (page 267 in unscripted FYI) , he can quickly find something where he can add value and profit, being emotionally detached from the business model at hand and focused.

You should be starting a business with as much empirical evidence backing your decision making as possible, not loading up the decision making process with your own preferences and ego baggage.
 

MJ DeMarco

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Would you pick a niche you like and then find problems or needs in it, or would you look for problems everywhere and "adapt" to the niche you find the problem you're going to solve?

Either one works, problems are problems. They need solutions. The caveat is the "passionate" niche more than likely will have a lot more competition, and a lot more people will recognize the problem as an opportunity.
 
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Santi M

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Picking a niche is difficult if one succumbs to something like the paradox of choice (analysis paralysis.) You could invent a new niche entirely, pick something you're "passionate" about, try the latest trending niches based on Google. Ultimately, my opinion is this "All ways of choosing a niche, directly or indirectly, are both good and bad. For it is the market that will decide if you are giving value"

Slavoj Zizek has a quote in The Pervert's Guide to Ideology that goes something along the lines of, "I am already eating from the trashcan all of the time. The name of this trashcan is ideology." This quote is resonating with me now while I read Unscripted . But, before I go way off the rails here, let me try to bring this back... Forget everything you know about different categories of niches or what a niche even is. Remove niche from your vocabulary entirely (just for now.)

First focus on people, observe their dead wishes, pains, struggles and so on. It is here where opportunity can be detected. Pretend these people are close family that you love and care for. What can you do to help them. (It's important here to remember that "just give them money" is not a tangible solution. I can expand on the why, but I believe it is obvious with a simple hypothetical example like giving a homeless heroin addict an extra $1000 a month. This would often do little more than supply them with more heroin.)

Why listen to my post? Because I too, like most humans eat from the trashcan of ideology (at least to some degree.) I myself want to find the perfect niche. I want to bring people value and snowball my efforts to help even more people. I want to feel like I "know my purpose." But, the reality is that there is no perfect or even neat way about achieving these "selfish" desires. (And if there is, please educate me, I don't claim to know everything.) I've written lists, I've talked with some people and I still am lost-ish. Yes, lost-ish isn't a word. I just mean I embrace uncertainty. I know my general approach to what I wish to do, but I lack the specific details as the future is unknown.

If you're still with me on this unrevised, rosé-fuelled rant; I hope that I've given a understandable opinion on the questions being asked.

Great reflection, far beyond my question, which I appreciate a lot. Food for thought, undoubtedly. Thank you!
 

Santi M

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Either one works, problems are problems. They need solutions. The caveat is the "passionate" niche more than likely will have a lot more competition, and a lot more people will recognize the problem as an opportunity.

Understood, thank you very much for your clear answer, MJ.
 

Matt Hunt

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The key is to solve a problem, I don't think it matters if you're passionate about it or not. You may be more likely to find a problem that needs solved within your passion, simply because you're spending your time doing that thing. Another thing I've been thinking about to not limit myself is also think about how an existing solution could be improved. That's how a lot of new companies come in and overtake the current industry leader.

Right now I'm just writing down any idea that I have. Then I can go through that list and see if there's a market for it, and which makes the most business sense, whether it's within my passion or not.
 
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