Virtual Assistant Forums | Work from Home

EliteBiz · #1 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008

I really have tried to go around picking a niche but think that maybe a place to start as far as a target market wouldn't hurt. Any ideas on how I can pick my niche or clients to target?

Tess · #2 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008

What are your specialties? What industries are you interested in or experienced with?
Post back and we'll get you started

Prime Admin Solutions · #3 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008

What is your work experience? Have you worked in an industry that you particularly enjoyed? If so, try to build your niche around that. My target market are management consultants, market research consultants, corporate trainers. That doesn't mean I don't accept work from other areas though.

EliteBiz · #4 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008

Here's my work history: I worked for a title/abstracting company and specialized in foreclosure. I did that for about 7 years. I've spent another 7 working in the payroll/HR field. I really was good at and loved the title industry but I have a degree in Business Management so I figured I should go back to my field of study. I pretty much learned all I needed to learn about foreclosures and title abstracting and didn't feel there was more room for advancement for me. Any thoughts?

My Office Zilla · #5 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008

A similar conversation happened within the "Sticky: Running Niche List" string. I posted a response so I'm going to paste it here:

I have two suggestions...

(1) to what niche would you have the most existing exposure? "Hey, I know A LOT of real estate agents!" or "Being on PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) has given me a lot of exposure to SAHMs (stay at home mom's)."

(2) have you worked in an industry that you LOVED to be in? "Before I got married and had kids I worked as a sales assistant and loved it!" or "During high school and college I helped out an accountant during tax season..."

Can you answer either of these with a response that resonates in your heart?

Even better if you can respond to both questions with the same answer! For example: My niche is Management Consulting or Executive Coaching...I've worked with a national consulting firm before so I had exposure to many coaches and trainers PLUS I loved the field.

Does this help?

Make it a great day!

Modern Marketing Support · #6 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008

Hi Janice,

You mentioned you specialized in foreclosure. Are there any small businesses or independent professionals that could benefit from that kind of service? I know of a guy who is an independent title searcher. That's all he does. He hires himself out to people who need a title search and he has a full-time business doing just that. Is there a way to market yourself as a foreclosure specialist?

EliteBiz · #7 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008

Originally Posted by shari VA

Hi Janice,

You mentioned you specialized in foreclosure. Are there any small businesses or independent professionals that could benefit from that kind of service? I know of a guy who is an independent title searcher. That's all he does. He hires himself out to people who need a title search and he has a full-time business doing just that. Is there a way to market yourself as a foreclosure specialist?

I'm not really sure besides doing Municipal Tax Searches and bankruptcy searches but most law firms and abstracting companies do that themselves. In a perfect world I'd have my niche also network with each other. So say I found how to market myself in foreclosures. I would target real estate attorneys, contractors (they'd be interested in flipping) real estate agents (to sell the properties for the contractors) appraisors, property inspectors. And all these people would benefit from working with each other to get new business as well. So I'd have a loyal customer base because essentially it's a network who actually do business with each other.

EliteBiz · #8 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008

I still have no clue what I'm going to do!

Office Goddess · #9 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008

There are several good threads in the archives about choosing your niche. I would try researching them and then do some brainstorming back here!

YourLeftHand · #10 (**permalink**) 07-26-2008

I can't tell you what to do one way or the other, but.....

Do what you know you will LOVE doing, don't worry if it's not directly tied to your degree.