I dont think I will have a specific niche, but know that small businesses and startups will be my primary focus

I thnk you just need to put yourself out there and netowrk with as many people as possible before you determine what your niche market is. By focusing on the one, you rule out the many.

Agreed. You don't necessarily have to know right from the beginning of your business who your niche/target market will be but it does certainly help.

When we're marketing ourselves to "the world", our message becomes diluted and often gets lost in the myriad of other's marketing efforts.

When we can determine our target market, we can "tighten" our marketing message to speak directly to them and their pain points - what keeps them up at night.

It's much more powerful and allows you to focus your efforts here.

Think about what you did in your "past life" (read: J.O.B.s). Who did you like to work with? What industries did you really enjoy? What activities did you like the most? Those questions can help to start your thinking in a target market direction.

When I began my business nearly 10 years ago, I joke that I used to offer my services to "anyone with a heartbeat and a wallet", and I wasn't very successful.

It was when I decided I would pursue the real estate industry as my target market, that my business really began to take off. My message was targeted, my networking was more focused, and it was easy for me to articulate what I offered and what was in it for them.

(BTW - I never worked in the real estate industry prior to starting my business but was always interested in real estate - so took courses and learned everywhere I could.)

Best wishes of great success to each of you!

Cheers,
Pam

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Pam Ivey, Cert SBM,PREA,PREVA,CRESS,CMP
Virtual Assistant Training Academy: Training for Virtual Business Success!

It's strange, when I first started out I marketed my services to everyone - businesses, individuals, whatever - and had a succesful thriving business.

I'm actually finding by having a niche it's harder to get clients.

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Originally Posted by bridiej

It's strange, when I first started out I marketed my services to everyone - businesses, individuals, whatever - and had a succesful thriving business. I'm actually finding by having a niche it's harder to get clients.

I am glad someone asked this question of non niche vs niche as I was thinking the same thing. I agree with bridiej, and I hope I can make it work just as successful. I am guessing working with presidents and others in the astronomy area is not a niche?

But I also agree with this:

Quote:

Agreed. You don't necessarily have to know right from the beginning of your business who your niche/target market will be but it does certainly help. When we're marketing ourselves to "the world", our message becomes diluted and often gets lost in the myriad of other's marketing efforts. When we can determine our target market, we can "tighten" our marketing message to speak directly to them and their pain points - what keeps them up at night. It's much more powerful and allows you to focus your efforts here. Think about what you did in your "past life" (read: J.O.B.s). Who did you like to work with? What industries did you really enjoy? What activities did you like the most? Those questions can help to start your thinking in a target market direction. When I began my business nearly 10 years ago, I joke that I used to offer my services to "anyone with a heartbeat and a wallet", and I wasn't very successful. It was when I decided I would pursue the real estate industry as my target market, that my business really began to take off. My message was targeted, my networking was more focused, and it was easy for me to articulate what I offered and what was in it for them. (BTW - I never worked in the real estate industry prior to starting my business but was always interested in real estate - so took courses and learned everywhere I could.) Best wishes of great success to each of you!

Decisions, decisions.... I am thinking I will start general and work my way up from there. Good plan??? or Bad??