Discovering Your Niche Market

Posted July 22, 2008 by Cheri Alguire

By Cheri Alguire How many times in your business have you heard, "You need to choose a niche"? While nearly everyone talks about the benefits of a niche and that they need to find theirs; How do you really choose a niche? How do you know the right one? Will you really like it? Will it prove profitable?  For me, in the beginning it seemed to boil down to one critical question: How was I going to attract clients? I understood finding my target audience from the marketing I had done in my previous businesses. After hearing the speakers, taking the classes, and reading the books about the importance of choosing a niche, I began to understand that to really have effective advertising, my business and marketing plans must start with a clear idea of what my niche market would be.   I am a business and life coach for Small Business Owners.  Okay, there are still a million Small Business Owners in the United States, but to be honest, when I first began coaching I thought that niche was too narrow. I knew there were other Small Business Coaches out there. All I could focus on was the overwhelming feeling that came to me in trying to figure out how was I suppose to compete with the other coaches with that same niche. So, I decided I wasn't going to limit myself. I decided I was also going to work with Real Estate Agents. They were kind of like Small Business Owners since they both had small business and I had been in the Real Estate Industry in the past. I knew there were a lot of Realtors out there.   I also told myself I didn't want to get "bored" working with just Small Business Owners.  Now, several years later, after working with hundreds of Small Business Owners and real estate agents, brokers and managers, I have found a couple groups of ideal clients that excite me: Small Business Owner Moms and Real Estate Moms looking to balance their business and their life, busy Small Business Owners looking to efficiently manage their time and brokers or agents looking to build an effective team.   Sometimes you chose your niche and it works out from the beginning. Other times, your niches evolve as you and your business change and grow.   ----------   Coach Cheri Alguire is a Business Coach who works with Small Business Owners, Real Estate Professionals, Moms, and New Coaches.  To find out more about her new book:  Branding & Marketing Mastery