It feels weird writing about this now, because I feel like I actually have finally found a niche and stuck with it for more than a hot minute...
... but I honestly believe that for the most part, the way we think about niches isn't meant for us.
There are two main reasons for this:
1. We get bored. You know it, I know it, we need something to keep us busy and help us dive deep into things. I think for me, with neurodivergent humans, there's always new research and new knowledge to keep me engaged - but before this, I worked in everything from education to alcobev, equestrian to ecommerce, and a million things in between. I needed that novelty to find the work interesting. Building websites and creating marketing plans over and over for the same types of business just gets boring when you do it week after week!
2. Your client roster is literally the only time that diversity will ever be discouraged by common wisdom.
Stock portfolio? Diversify to insulate yourself from excessive risk in any one industry or geographic area.
Sports team? Make sure you have someone playing each position, and make sure THEY all play other sports in the off-season.
Dinner party menu? Don't serve all desserts, people need variety.
But your clients? THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE (type.)
I don't buy it.
I want to insulate my business from excessive risk in any one area or industry or geography. I want my roster to seem well rounded and have different people doing different things. I also want novelty! My brain needs it! And industries can cross-pollenate ideas, so clients benefit, too.
Now, does this mean you should never specialize? Of course not. If you're talking to everyone, you're talking to no one.
But think of your niches less like a box for you to fit in, and more like books on your shelf.
When you're interested in one, pick it up and flip through it. Get caught up in the story, delight in it, enjoy it, and when you're done... Put it back on the shelf. You might pick it up again some day and get more clients from that space, you might not, but at the end of the day what matters is that you had fun while you did it.
The key to doing this is finding out what these clients have in common - and that often comes down to the symptoms of their problems.
If you know how it feels to have their problem, chances are that other businesses and other people in other niches FEEL the same way - even if their problems aren't solved the exact same way.
For example, both alcobev clients and content creators struggle with distribution. They need to get someone to say "yes" to their stuff and help them put it out there, or they'll be stuck trying to get one person at a time to their homebase. It feels disempowering to wait to be "picked", so both types of businesses would resonate with content that helped them feel seen and understood.
Even though the underlying solution for one is a national SDR program and quarterly portfolio review meetings with distributors, and the solution for the other is probably JVs and content collabs.
Both feel the same way.
Both need sales and persuasion support.
Both could benefit from working with similar providers.
Yet have WILDLY different businesses.
Try this in your work. Think of two niches you'd love to work with that seem disconnected, and figure out a shared FEELING between them - and how someone like you could resolve both.
- Cheryl
❤️ How to work with me
Solo School has launched a certification program! (Details are here.)
If you serve neurodivergent humans, or you want to, and you'd love to fill your pipeline with a bunch of leads at the same time, join Solo School now to get one of the last 3 Founders Circle spots. You'll get certified as a Neurodivergent Accessible Provider in our 16-week program, have full access to our marketing support program to fill your pipeline with leads and get radically supported while doing so, AND (if you're one of these final 3) be part of an exclusive mastermind of certification students to get direct 1:1 support and collaboration with me on growing your business and filling your client roster with ND humans.
💯 Days Without Deadlines
All of the client work I've taken on with deadlines is now officially done.
Forever.
I had some projects I had taken on that required deadlines before I started this 100 days project, and while I had basically decided to ignore those deadlines, I still needed to finish the projects - and now they're done.
Literally nothing on my list has deadlines anymore, only start dates and a list of fun activities to choose from.
I'm finding it beneficial to give myself a task wishlist at the end of each day (i.e. here's what I'd like to do tomorrow) and then, in the morning, sit down and ask... What do I feel like doing today? And actually plan it out.
Today it's content, some work on Solo School to continue improving it, and developing some assessments I need to support my students to succeed.
Tomorrow, I have no idea. I have a list of possible things, but nothing specific and nothing mandatory. I might actually do my morning calls and then go hit the apple farm with my kids, because I'm still tired from being sick and that's what I want to do.
Doing the work to figure out how to work without deadlines has been incredibly interesting. It reminds me of, well, all the places I need trash cans.
See, I used to believe that trash cans were for very specific places. Bathroom, kitchen, garage, maaaaaybe a wastepaper basket in the office.
Then I read about an ADHD accommodation that basically amounts to "put a trashcan everywhere trash piles up."
Next to the sofa. In the car. Under your desk. Beside the bed. Beside the vanity. In the backyard. Anywhere that you put trash, put a trashcan.
It might not end up getting emptied as often as you'd like, but it will be more tidy than a pile of trash in that spot.
This is how we need to look at business accommodations.
They're not only things we MUST change because we are UNABLE to do it the typical way...
... they're also the things we CAN change because it's EASIER for us to do it the NEW way.
💪 Business adaptation of the week
My morning routine! It's been a huge support for me while recovering from being sick. While I previously had a morning routine that included some pieces like emptying the dishwasher and starting laundry, that I'm still working my way back to, currently my morning routine looks like this:
- Wake up and take medications + supplements
- Knit or crochet in bed until my medication kicks in. I can always feel when it kicks in because it makes me want to get out of bed and do things, I feel like I am excited for the day.
- Open up my journal and write a few lines about my thoughts, hopes, dreams. A bit of a brain emptying, a bit of a forward-thinking hope-building exercise.
- Once I'm finished journaling, I grab my planner for the day and look at my wishlist - what tasks actually feel inspiring today? Which ones will I do? And fill that out.
- Then, I get up and get dressed, do my morning bodycare things, grab a high protein breakfast and my coffee and - if I'm working - head to the office feeling energized and ready to start the day.
The reason I consider this an accommodation is because the feeling it gives me. Being able to say, "I'm going to sit in bed and do something that makes me happy for 30 minutes before I do anything productive or meet anyone else's needs" gives me a feeling of control and autonomy that I don't otherwise often get in my day.
And in reality, that's what most of my accommodations are about these days. Putting me back in the drivers' seat, and choosing what I'll do with my time rather than having other people choose for me.
🎁 My favourite things this week
I'm doing the Clear the Chaos challenge with Christy Farr, and while my progress got interrupted by illness, I also managed to eliminate 30 items of clothing from my closet and am about to ditch a ton of kitchen appliances.
As always, Briar Harvey is one of my favourite things. Her and her family are going through some of the worst struggles a family can endure together. If you have the ability to drop a few dollars in support of her GFM campaign, I'd happily offer you a single course from the Solo School library at no cost in return. Let's help our own. Just email me with your receipt and which course you want, and I'll send you a coupon code.
📚 What I'm reading
I finished reading Designing Your Life, and I'm actually pretty impressed. Applying the design thinking process to your life and your work is wicked smart and pretty fun. I'm now working through the workbook, trying to track my daily activities and see which ones light me up and which ones don't. This is so I can redirect my focus to those activities.
Hard to believe I only have 90 days left in 2024. 90 days of The Pivot Year by Brianna Wiest to finish reading. Those little pieces of prose each day to start my day have been so supportive of the growth I've been doing this year, I think I'll actually miss it.
Still working on Evelyn Hugo. I'll be honest, every time I pick it up I find it impossible to put down - but it's also impossible to pick up as a result. I know I'll end up reading for way, wayyyy too long when I pick it up, so I avoid it!
Just trying to decide on my next non-fiction read to enjoy in tandem. I may try something on my Kindle, so I can read it more on the go or with the Kindle holder and remote control I have. That would allow me to knit and read at the same time. #likeaboss
Want to follow my reading? Check me out on StoryGraph, the minority-owned GoodReads competitor I love!
