Are you looking to start a niche online business? Or choose a more profitable niche inside an online business you’ve already started? On my journey to building two online businesses, one of the most important adjustments I made was to focus on the right niche.
Once I figured out who I could show up and serve profitably, everything got easier – from creating content to conceptualizing digital products that would sell.
If you are just starting out, or considering how to pivot your business to be more profitable, finding your niche is going to be one of the most important activities to do first. Here are 5 online business niche mistakes to avoid.
Niche Online Business Mistake #1 – Jumping from Niche to Niche
Building an online business takes time. While you don’t want to stick with an online business niche that doesn’t work for you, or doesn’t stand a chance of being profitable, if you jump from one niche to another, you never get the chance to experience real momentum in your business.
It’s not uncommon for me to see a woman just start to become known as the go-to person for a particular topic, and then switch her business to focus on something else. All that initial time and momentum is wasted.
It takes more work than many expect to know for sure if a niche is going to become profitable. An early positive sign is if people resonate with the messages you are sharing. Another sign is if you start receiving on-topic questions and requests for help.
Niche Online Business Mistake #2 – Too Broad and Inclusive
When I started my first online business, my niche was business analysts. That might seem fairly specific but in reality, it was a big space. My content was all over the place as I aimed to be interesting to everyone from the very beginner to the most senior professional.
My business really started to gain momentum when I focused on helping people starting their business analyst careers. And later on, I narrowed in even further, emphasizing that I help mid-career professionals, as opposed to recent college graduates, start business analyst careers.
Similarly, featured Momstyler Jen McLellan focuses on helping plus-size pregnant women and Jennifer Mason focuses on helping birth photographers. These are both super specific niches, and both women are becoming well-known in their space because their work is so focused.
When you focus on a specific niche, it becomes much easier to create content and put together packages that directly support the people in that space. The irony is that you will start to attract even more people who are not directly in your niche, simply because your marketing content is so powerful and focused.
Niche Online Business Mistake #3 – Trying to Help Complacent People
One of the reasons my business momentum increased when I began helping people start business analyst careers is because there was a burning need. These people were moving away from a current, problematic state, whether that was unemployment or job dissatisfaction.
Employed business analysis professionals tended to be much more complacent in their careers, and I felt myself not only trying to sell my products but sell people on the need for them at all. This meant I needed to do twice the selling for the same amount of profit. That’s a recipe for exhaustion, not a profitable niche online business.
Niche Online Business Mistake #4 – Trying to Help People Who Don’t Have Money to Spend
When deciding on your niche, it’s also important to look at the people you want to serve and see if they have money to spend. In general, I find it more difficult to sell products and services to those who are unemployed for a long time, as funds understandably get tight. However, recently unemployed and highly motivated professionals working off their severance will often be ready to make investments to be sure they land on their feet quickly.
This doesn’t mean you can’t decide to come from a place of compassion and generosity to help people who can’t afford (or think they can’t afford) to pay you. In fact, I offer a ton of free content to help unemployed business analysts with their job search.
Just don’t run the risk of fooling yourself into thinking that the niche will be profitable if you want to serve people who don’t have money to spend.
On this topic, the mom entrepreneurs space has also proven to be a tough one for me. We as women can so undervalue ourselves that we resist spending money on us and our businesses. However, I see other women running successful online businesses helping mom entrepreneurs, and so I know it’s possible. I’ve been pivoting and exploring different aspects of this space to try to find the right women to focus on helping, and that’s why you’ve seen me focus more and more on passive income recently.
Niche Online Business Mistake #5 – Serving People You Aren’t Inspired to Serve
Last but not least, your online business niche needs to include people you are inspired to serve. Over and over again, I receive questions from mom entrepreneurs asking me about what type of online business they should start.
Almost invariably, my answer is the same:
- Do what’s inspiring you.
- Do work that you love.
- Serve people you are excited to help.
Creating a profitable online business requires a lot of time and hard work. If you choose a niche that is meaningful to you personally, you’ll enjoy the work and be more likely to get through the rough spots.
>>Get Feedback on Your Niche
Finding the right online business niche requires some experimentation and a willingness to adjust. After all, that’s what makes you unstoppable.
A strong community and some feedback can also be invaluable. To get feedback on your online business niche or any other aspect of building a profitable, flexible online business, be sure to join us in the Momstyle Your Business Facebook group. You’ll receive regular tips for creating passive income from your online business and be part of an empowering community of mom entrepreneurs.
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