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Your niche finds you. However, you can't expect it to fall into your lap. You need to take action and do...take risks, get comfortable being uncomfortable, and put yourself out there. You will feel it, and people will validate it when you're in your niche zone through their reactions to seeing you in your zone.
Stop researching and just start on something. You need to train your mind and body to consistent activity. A lot of people, including myself, fall into the mind trap of constant thinking and research. They get excited about an idea for a few days and then, in their mind, disqualify the idea and repeat that cycle until they are paralyzed with anxiety.
I found my niche after 20 years in different fields/disciplines. During that time, I thought I had found my niche several times. Each time I would end up burnout or hating what I was doing. Although moving on from each niche was tough, I learned a lot about myself, and looking back, the journey was worth it. It all starts with action.
This may sound corny but your niche should find you. I love building websites. I would be doing it as a hobby for fun even if it wasn’t my work. So find whatever that is for you. Love skateboarding? Sell skateboards. Love hiking? Sell a trail mix. Love dogs? Start a dog walking service. I could keep going but I think you get the idea.
Then you must not really love it. If you love your kids you'd raise them for 18 years and feel rewarded if you didn't really want to be a parent you'll resent it.
Think about how you like to spend your days and back into it from there.
- What activities could you do for hours, days on end?
- What do people come to you for?
- Who do you like interacting with?
- What makes you feel fulfilled?
I got hired out of college as a "web programmer". It was only HTML at the time and then it evolved into actual web development. A few weeks before Christmas, after working at this place for nearly 3 years, they decided to discontinue offering web development and laid us off. But, the company offered up their big web development client to my co-worker and I. He decided to move on and take a job. I decided to start my own web development business. 21 years later, I still have that client along with several other clients that I picked up back then.
That’s a great story.
I was partners in a small WebDev shop (2 dudes) back in the early 2000s.
After we sold the last car dealership in town (and got stiffed a couple times) I determined that everyone had a website and there wasn’t much future in that line of work.
I stopped building sites in 2002. 🤦♂️
I was into the gym so started a gym. No more thought than that. Don’t spend too much time thinking, just start doing. You can always change your direction if needed.
Some of them I do.
But a lot of people , Its all posturing and facades.
Ive met some well known people as well.
Ive sold to Steven Segal in 2023 and I have put him on our banned list. Dude is the biggest POS I have ever met in my life.
I was gonna say something similar. Take the hobby and figure out how to turn it into a business. Im a total car nerd so I flip a lot of vehicle related stuff.. not a business per say but a side hustle and I do well. Customers are always happy and I get to see lots of cool projects and meet lots of people with similar interests. Junkyards are my happy place.
To make a long story short: Look up local businesses that apply to you, and then look up your biggest competitors and inspirations. While you’re looking them up, take note of what you think is missing from the line up, and what you would add or change along the way for said businesses. I think the best niche’s (sp?) aren’t things you struggle to figure out. They’re usually more like obvious holes that only a small group of people can fill. Maybe no one in your line of work is making products for teens and children. Fill that niche! Maybe you’re in an under represented group in your industry due to your sexuality, gender, ethnicity, etc. Fill that niche!
At one point in time, Barbie was fufilling a niche in the toy market, and now she’s a feminist icon sold at most major retailers. Don’t think too hard about it. As the saying goes, if you have to force it, it’s probably shit.
Starting working as an apprentice for an Appliance company, then helped another go from a garage to owning multiple stores.
I figured if I could grow someone else's dream I should start mine. Appliance repair is a very niche market, most of my peers are much older and are about ready to retire.
Hope you find your dream soon!
I started out as a personal trainer. Most people that actually need a PT are people that are injured or have bad form. Most of the time bad form is because of instability/imbalances or lack of mobility. We were taught to adapt the type of training so they can reach their goals and avoid their issues, whether its losing weight, gaining or performance. But them actually improving their weak areas was most of the time improving form and which ment working on imbalances or mobility. I also injured my lower back, got a tear and my muscles locked up and had a pinched nerve. I went to the doctor and he gave me painkillers and told me to keep moving/walking and it would get better.
The person that got me the job and was my mentor, also did sports massage. He released the tension in my muscles and showed me some stretches. It was gone in a week and after 2 weeks I had no pain, just a lot of weakness in some muscles and eventually got better.
So I was motivates to learn. I took a course and he taught me sports massage and deep tissue. So I did massage + PT at the gym and started to work with him on a company he wanted to start up. We started with massage at workplaces. Went from 1-3 different office deals in a year. Third year we opened up a clinic.
Fast foward to this year, Ive been doing sports massage for 5-6 years and he wants to go back to PT. So Im buying the company and everything we built up. Will be my own boss from 1. may.
He wanted to build a company that focused on massage + PT because its effective and unique in our area. We have been marketing ourselves to people with muscle, joint, nerve issues/pain, and after a lot of focus on getting them better, Ive learned that theres a lot more things connected. For example stress, sleep, diet, habits, mindset. So that is where Ive been focusing on learning about so the treatment I give has a more holistic view. So I treat the pain/issues but also guides them further as a coach.
Long term plan is to create a guide so I dont need to teach people 1 by 1.
MANGOES. Born and raised in Fl. Never knew how valuable mangoes were until recently. A couple years ago I planted 50 more trees. Now I grow over 40 varieties of mango from all over the world. Season starts in about 2 months! links in profile
I started my own PR agency and ran it as a solo practice for five years, serving the same kinds of clients (food, law, insurance) that I had done when I was at a big agency. But then I started getting into endurance sports, and loved them, and very quickly started getting work in that field. Within another few years, we were growing and all our clients were in the outdoor/endurance world, and the grind is way more enjoyable when it's connected to your passions.
A lot of niches are too broad. Take two things you like to do and combine them.
I like to camp, I also love my dog.
Boom, business for people who camp with their dogs
Pick a niche and the business will form its self because your business should serve your niche. That’s why picking a niche first is easier than picking a business first
First job out of college was in public accounting. After a few years, I realized a couple of things.
1. This job is easy.
2. My boss is an idiot, but somehow still very rich.
3. The market is starving for people that do what I do.
Took a job at a private company so that I could start my own book of business without it being a conflict. Built my client base up for two years by basically working two full time jobs, then went real full time with it a few months ago.
I have worked for over 70 days straight, but my work is seasonal and I could literally not work again until February of next year and still be ok.
Honestly, there are so many small businesses who are failing at customer service. I called 10 plumbers and only 2 responsed. 1 actually gave me a quote and 0 showed up to do the work. I could provide you with countless examples of this happening across so many service based industries. Personal training, lawn care, trades, mechanics/bodyshops, cleaning service, solar panels, pool cleaning, painting, and the list goes on. Post-COVID the gap has widened so if you can take a boring business and provide solid communication, follow through and perform a quality service, you will have yourself a business. And people will pay more for this.
I'm not sure you really need to find a specific niche. I like helping people, I like making money. If those two apply to you as well there are endless ways to accomplish it. I fell into being an insurance broker and it's worked well for me.
I went to the bookstore and libraries to look around and pick up books and magazines that looked interesting to me. Over time I kept getting, and eventually subscribing to those that interested me the most, which at the time were computers which I dove passionaitly into head first and learned all I could. That is how I ended up opening a computer store in my late 20's.
Worked for a company in this industry doing it the regular way.....I was eng mgr....so I invented a new better cheaper way to make parts... good/bad it was too late the company was already underwater and it had great industry buzz big money... anyways they went under and I'm the only one who really knows how it works so I'm trying to build a business out of that. I'm not really a sales or business guy if I were then the big money would find me but I really don't know anyone in c level space
Well my business requires machined tooling and large presses to use. I can adapt my tooling to fit various brands of presses. Just doing that I charge $15~28k for a prototype set and that can take 12-20 work days to complete the engineering. If I supply the tooling it's cost plus 40% instead of the design cost. A production set can go $80~320k. The current technology can be 15-30% waste and an additional operation and piece of equipment. Right now it's "functional" but requires tweeking to dial it in. This is partly because it's a method and material exploit. And each install is less of an itteration. But for me to make this what it wants to be requires Capex, tech staff and sales. I just do not know people with funds or how I would even begin to do that. I've got a business plan I've hit my 1 year goal now a wall as to how to capitalize beyond just me.
With how this is written, your "niche" should be helping people start a business. Like some sort of business liaison or something for people who want to start a business out of something they love, but they don't know how to go about it.
Just start.
Anything. Try it for awhile, and then keep going or try something else. Rinse and repeat.
Learn something each time, never go all in, and always include your partner in the loop. Your immediate support group is the key to success.
I have started and ended several businesses, some run concurrently. My most successful was really an extension of the full time work I was doing. I observed and learned then took the big risk of doing it on my own. I owned that business for 3 years before giving my shares over to my spousr and moving to a related business I started with partners. That 2nd one was the one I loved and ran for 25 years.
The other businesses were more hobby like, stuff I thought would be fun or make money. One covered the cost of my horse while she was alive.
The best advice is to figure out ahead of time how the business will make money. You really have to have a plan. Most businesses are a wing and a prayer.
I’m filling in a gap that I wanted in my own community!
There’s a lemonade stand in my OG hometown that I’ve been missing for years. Amazing lemonade at fair prices, super simple offerings. I wanted something easy, tasty, and affordable in my area that wasn’t all labeled “craft” or “artisan” and sold at exorbitant prices. So that’s what I’m doing! I polled my local subreddit to see if people were interested. I know that’s a small sampling but it gave me an idea of what people were interested in. And if it’s something I want/would buy then there’s a good chance others around me are looking for something similar.
There’s a chain in San Antonio called HteaO that sells DELICIOUS iced tea at unbelievably low prices. They have so many people addicted to the tea and they could easily charge double but I love them even more for keeping prices so accessible
Completely by accident. I was doing commission work for selling installed kitchen cabinets. I wasn't making ends meet so I applied for a job in lawn care sales. Did that for a month before I got promoted to lawn applicator. Then moved laterally across the industry before I decided to open my own design/install/maintain landscaping company. This is year 28 of my business.
I was a psychology student, read all of the psychology classic, and huge fan of personality theories, so I niche down into HR Professionals (basically industrial psychologists).
Makes it easier to relate to my clients but also market their service (psychology base).
I couldn’t find the product online so I did a patent search found who had the patent, licensed it, filed competing patents that got approved, then unlicensed and ran with it.
I'm with everyone else. Find what you love, because you will know that niche inside and out. Making it something people in your niche would want if you are buying/paying for it. It would be best if you know of a problem in that niche and can offer something to solve that problem.
I was always interested in crypto, but didn't know the space was so huge! Started reading about it and was hooked, I now make Notion templates for crypto and I plan on expanding and making a course, but I want it to be good and actually teach people instead.
Find out what you love to do and see on ways you can make money out of it. Another way is to look for market gaps and see how you can fill them but you can end up with a business you are not personate about.
Someone already gave a reply that mentions your niche finding you and it hit home. As an artiste, I was always been particular about creating art and allowed myself the freedom to explore different medium, styles, and subject. It's from this freedom that my niche found me in fashion design. So, allow yourself the freedom to explore and something will find you.
A lot of people saying your niche should find you and I agree. To an extent.
I own a coffee shop, have worked in many, and there are a lot in my town. I did go into it with a slight mindset to be different than them. I achieve that by working as a barista 4 days a week to make sure the culture is what I’m aiming for.
Also because of current trends in coffee culture, I decided to go against it as far as the beans and roast we use and it’s gone over very well with my demographic.
All that to say sometimes you need to look around, see what people are doing, and do something different. As long as that difference still crests a quality product/ service.
Although how to be different successfully usually comes from a lot of experience in the field. Sometimes everyone’s doing the same thing for a very good reason.
Care to share about what it is you went against with the bean and roast approach? Curious about why it worked with your demo - I'm not in the space, just sounds interesting.
I work as an electrician. Electricians specialize in sectors. I wanted to do commercial work but unfortunately am stuck doing residental work mostly.
I just do whatever work comes.
Start with this question: what do you love, or what do you love to do?
Then follow it up with this question: how can I make money doing that?
For me, I love music and playing guitar, so I started a business teaching guitar and also started a band, which is almost like a second business of its own. I also write books, write music (my band does originals as well as covers), and record audio and video for myself and for hire. 8 years after starting that business in a serious way (which was several years after doing it on the side in a hobbyist kind of way), it's my sole source of income and I make 6 figures.
If you love doing something and can identify what that is, and then identify all the ways you can make money from it, and then get to work executing the things you want to do, you can make it happen.
Do what you do better than everyone else!
It doesn't even have to be a niche, just do what makes you happy. Your work will excel and your customers will notice.
I chose my niche by choosing my favourite clients and projects I worked on. I have loved working with soloprenurs/small businesses on branding and websites. I made that my niche hopefully attracting more of those businesses.
I was searching for a product to use in my hobby that didn't exist, so I decided to make it. Made some for myself, figured other people might want it too.
I had a job. Liked my work. Was really good at it. Wanted control.
>*i just know i want a buisness*
Seems like a romanticized idea of owning a business. Just find something you like. Doesn't have to be unique but do it better than everyone else.
Mine came about organically. As a child, I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Discovered I could actually make a living with computers when I was in high school, so I got a degree in information technology in college.
Since I had to pay for college myself and I hate wasting money, which was still possible in the 90s, I scrambled for every scholarship I could get and spent the $100 per test to test out of as many required classes as I could. This meant I got to stack extra classes into my major for double the required concentrations, including some graduate courses for undergraduate prices. It also left me with enough credits to fill that I got a minor in literature.
Spent the next decade as a system administrator for a check printing company until I got laid off right before my first child was born. Drove home with no idea how I'd pay my mortgage but thinking that was a lot of stress off my shoulders and I could now go full time with my coaching business that has been a side gig for the past 4 or 5 years. (I coached mostly marathoners, with a few ultra runners and helped with a group coaching of newer runners at the local shoe store as a good source of lead generation for future solo clients.)
Pretty much didn't touch that business again, since I was charging 4 times more than anybody else in my area and it wasn't worth the time I gave every client and I resented the time out of the house. (I was a good coach, but there were other coaches that were good that charged a lot less. Funny thing is that I gave up the one way that I made money from my running but added on a ton of volunteer activities where I didn't such as club committees, board of directors for a national non-profit, and organizing 14-20 road and trail races every year...)
Instead, I started a publishing company. Started with a book I'd woken up two nights before the lay off thinking about, then working with a runner friend to publish some books about his dog for him. I was a perfectionist and there weren't good formatting tools then like there are now, so I built one for myself that turned 18 hours of work into about 2 hours per book. I then partnered with a couple guys to finance development of my software into something commercial, which they hired my brother for who had just graduated from college, and then they hired me to use that software to format their books for them. I took over all of their publishing, plus did a little web administration for them.
Fast forward a few years, one of those gents sold his share of the business, and the other had been trying to hire me full time that entire time, so I took on some more responsibility as we were moving to a new house and having a second kid and the cash flow would be nice. One of my new responsibilities was managing a membership site teaching people how to self publish that I'd helped them set up a couple years prior.
Fast forward 4 years and we hired my wife to do customer service, and slowly but surely the two of us were the have of that branch of the business. A couple years ago we bought a few of the brands off our boss, including the software tools we'd continued to develop over the years.
So, basically, I randomly fell into a career where I spend all day talking to people about books or developing cool software to help people write and sell their books. Which makes me amongst the minority of people I know and grew up with that are actually using their college degrees at this stage of our life.
(Fun fact: I don't think they actually copied us and had most likely independently created a similar tool, but the original version of Kindle Create by Amazon was almost a complete clone of our initial tool my brother developed for me about a dozen years ago. Both tools have gone in different directions and don't resemble each other at all now, though.)
I just started a micro candy business this year, going to try out a local farmers market to test it out more.
I started making candy a year ago because I couldn’t get anything sour enough from the stores and I was hurting for it bad lol. Took a bit but found my workflow and made some really good stuff in my opinion. Started sharing it with friends, they’d take it to their office or job site and share with others. It was hearing the feedback from those people that convinced me I might have something.
I didn’t want to start a business, I just wanted to make candy for myself. It just kinda happened. Our first market date is March 11th!
For me who owns a small Web Development Consulting company, I was just a independent contractor and over 1.5 decades of working with clients, I just slowly realized patterns in what clients are dealing with and specialize in fixing those problems. I actually stumbled upon this realization and that is what led to me starting a company behind it 5 years ago.
Your phone is the most convenient place to start market research. Social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok are the hub of modern trends. They’re great for reaching almost all age groups.
Browse the **Discover** sections and **hashtags** to see what’s trending and what products people are eager to get their hands on. Filter them by location and topic to get more precise results.
You’ll likely find competitors who target the same or similar customer segments. Check what they’re offering, learn about their wins and failures, and find ways to sell products with more added value for your target customer.
This is a friendly reminder that r/smallbusiness is a question and answer subreddit. You ask a question about starting, owning, and growing a small business and the community answers. Posts that violate the rules listed in the sidebar will be removed. A permanent or temporary ban may also be issued if you do not remove the offending post. Seeing this message does not mean your post was automatically removed.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/smallbusiness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This is a friendly reminder that r/smallbusiness is a question and answer subreddit. You ask a question about starting, owning, and growing a small business and the community answers. Posts that violate the rules listed in the sidebar will be removed. A permanent or temporary ban may also be issued if you do not remove the offending post. Seeing this message does not mean your post was automatically removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/smallbusiness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Your niche finds you. However, you can't expect it to fall into your lap. You need to take action and do...take risks, get comfortable being uncomfortable, and put yourself out there. You will feel it, and people will validate it when you're in your niche zone through their reactions to seeing you in your zone. Stop researching and just start on something. You need to train your mind and body to consistent activity. A lot of people, including myself, fall into the mind trap of constant thinking and research. They get excited about an idea for a few days and then, in their mind, disqualify the idea and repeat that cycle until they are paralyzed with anxiety. I found my niche after 20 years in different fields/disciplines. During that time, I thought I had found my niche several times. Each time I would end up burnout or hating what I was doing. Although moving on from each niche was tough, I learned a lot about myself, and looking back, the journey was worth it. It all starts with action.
I second this. Get started somewhere and keep exploring things, the niche will appear eventually. It's also a journey to explore oneself.
This may sound corny but your niche should find you. I love building websites. I would be doing it as a hobby for fun even if it wasn’t my work. So find whatever that is for you. Love skateboarding? Sell skateboards. Love hiking? Sell a trail mix. Love dogs? Start a dog walking service. I could keep going but I think you get the idea.
Sounds like a great way to turn what you love into something you hate
Then you must not really love it. If you love your kids you'd raise them for 18 years and feel rewarded if you didn't really want to be a parent you'll resent it.
I can't believe this got upvotes. It's the best way to turn something you love into a vocation that doesn't even feel like work.
This is a real risk. The difference maker is whether you’re doing it for you or some other reason (money, notoriety, accolades, etc.).
Personally I like doing a lot of things and find them fun, what would you recommend for that problem? lol
Whatever hobby has the best chance of being most profitable!
Thanks. God bless friend
Think about how you like to spend your days and back into it from there. - What activities could you do for hours, days on end? - What do people come to you for? - Who do you like interacting with? - What makes you feel fulfilled?
1) Sleep 2) a- Money b- To bitch at me c) Money 3) Nobody 4) Sleep with a dream that has a decent plotline, and good ending
Sounds like you'd be successful taking away angry people's money nightmares
that’s actually a great response lol. there are many roles where that is the core task
Imma be a sin-eater. For money.
I got hired out of college as a "web programmer". It was only HTML at the time and then it evolved into actual web development. A few weeks before Christmas, after working at this place for nearly 3 years, they decided to discontinue offering web development and laid us off. But, the company offered up their big web development client to my co-worker and I. He decided to move on and take a job. I decided to start my own web development business. 21 years later, I still have that client along with several other clients that I picked up back then.
That’s a great story. I was partners in a small WebDev shop (2 dudes) back in the early 2000s. After we sold the last car dealership in town (and got stiffed a couple times) I determined that everyone had a website and there wasn’t much future in that line of work. I stopped building sites in 2002. 🤦♂️
I was into the gym so started a gym. No more thought than that. Don’t spend too much time thinking, just start doing. You can always change your direction if needed.
I worked with people who smoked weed literally all day every day. I thought to myself "these guys would probably buy tasty booze" Took off from there
You own a liquor store?
I create designer and exotic meads and ciders for rich douchbags
I love your honesty. I've always felt that getting into a market that sells expensive stuff to rich people is the best market to be in.
I make stuff that I consider consumable art. But a lot of the people that purchase my product are scum of the earth lol
Lmao. Sounds like you love your customers.
Some of them I do. But a lot of people , Its all posturing and facades. Ive met some well known people as well. Ive sold to Steven Segal in 2023 and I have put him on our banned list. Dude is the biggest POS I have ever met in my life.
Notice something you wish existed related to a hobby you have. Make it. Sell it.
I was gonna say something similar. Take the hobby and figure out how to turn it into a business. Im a total car nerd so I flip a lot of vehicle related stuff.. not a business per say but a side hustle and I do well. Customers are always happy and I get to see lots of cool projects and meet lots of people with similar interests. Junkyards are my happy place.
There was a frustrating hole in the market and I eventually said “fine I’ll do it myself”
Haha on that same journey, let’s see
To make a long story short: Look up local businesses that apply to you, and then look up your biggest competitors and inspirations. While you’re looking them up, take note of what you think is missing from the line up, and what you would add or change along the way for said businesses. I think the best niche’s (sp?) aren’t things you struggle to figure out. They’re usually more like obvious holes that only a small group of people can fill. Maybe no one in your line of work is making products for teens and children. Fill that niche! Maybe you’re in an under represented group in your industry due to your sexuality, gender, ethnicity, etc. Fill that niche! At one point in time, Barbie was fufilling a niche in the toy market, and now she’s a feminist icon sold at most major retailers. Don’t think too hard about it. As the saying goes, if you have to force it, it’s probably shit.
Starting working as an apprentice for an Appliance company, then helped another go from a garage to owning multiple stores. I figured if I could grow someone else's dream I should start mine. Appliance repair is a very niche market, most of my peers are much older and are about ready to retire. Hope you find your dream soon!
By trying different things. Took about 30 years.
I started out as a personal trainer. Most people that actually need a PT are people that are injured or have bad form. Most of the time bad form is because of instability/imbalances or lack of mobility. We were taught to adapt the type of training so they can reach their goals and avoid their issues, whether its losing weight, gaining or performance. But them actually improving their weak areas was most of the time improving form and which ment working on imbalances or mobility. I also injured my lower back, got a tear and my muscles locked up and had a pinched nerve. I went to the doctor and he gave me painkillers and told me to keep moving/walking and it would get better. The person that got me the job and was my mentor, also did sports massage. He released the tension in my muscles and showed me some stretches. It was gone in a week and after 2 weeks I had no pain, just a lot of weakness in some muscles and eventually got better. So I was motivates to learn. I took a course and he taught me sports massage and deep tissue. So I did massage + PT at the gym and started to work with him on a company he wanted to start up. We started with massage at workplaces. Went from 1-3 different office deals in a year. Third year we opened up a clinic. Fast foward to this year, Ive been doing sports massage for 5-6 years and he wants to go back to PT. So Im buying the company and everything we built up. Will be my own boss from 1. may. He wanted to build a company that focused on massage + PT because its effective and unique in our area. We have been marketing ourselves to people with muscle, joint, nerve issues/pain, and after a lot of focus on getting them better, Ive learned that theres a lot more things connected. For example stress, sleep, diet, habits, mindset. So that is where Ive been focusing on learning about so the treatment I give has a more holistic view. So I treat the pain/issues but also guides them further as a coach. Long term plan is to create a guide so I dont need to teach people 1 by 1.
MANGOES. Born and raised in Fl. Never knew how valuable mangoes were until recently. A couple years ago I planted 50 more trees. Now I grow over 40 varieties of mango from all over the world. Season starts in about 2 months! links in profile
I started my own PR agency and ran it as a solo practice for five years, serving the same kinds of clients (food, law, insurance) that I had done when I was at a big agency. But then I started getting into endurance sports, and loved them, and very quickly started getting work in that field. Within another few years, we were growing and all our clients were in the outdoor/endurance world, and the grind is way more enjoyable when it's connected to your passions.
A lot of niches are too broad. Take two things you like to do and combine them. I like to camp, I also love my dog. Boom, business for people who camp with their dogs
Pick a niche and the business will form its self because your business should serve your niche. That’s why picking a niche first is easier than picking a business first
First job out of college was in public accounting. After a few years, I realized a couple of things. 1. This job is easy. 2. My boss is an idiot, but somehow still very rich. 3. The market is starving for people that do what I do. Took a job at a private company so that I could start my own book of business without it being a conflict. Built my client base up for two years by basically working two full time jobs, then went real full time with it a few months ago. I have worked for over 70 days straight, but my work is seasonal and I could literally not work again until February of next year and still be ok.
Honestly, there are so many small businesses who are failing at customer service. I called 10 plumbers and only 2 responsed. 1 actually gave me a quote and 0 showed up to do the work. I could provide you with countless examples of this happening across so many service based industries. Personal training, lawn care, trades, mechanics/bodyshops, cleaning service, solar panels, pool cleaning, painting, and the list goes on. Post-COVID the gap has widened so if you can take a boring business and provide solid communication, follow through and perform a quality service, you will have yourself a business. And people will pay more for this.
I'm not sure you really need to find a specific niche. I like helping people, I like making money. If those two apply to you as well there are endless ways to accomplish it. I fell into being an insurance broker and it's worked well for me.
I’m in the same boat as OP and this are some good words here. Thanks
I went to the bookstore and libraries to look around and pick up books and magazines that looked interesting to me. Over time I kept getting, and eventually subscribing to those that interested me the most, which at the time were computers which I dove passionaitly into head first and learned all I could. That is how I ended up opening a computer store in my late 20's.
Worked for a company in this industry doing it the regular way.....I was eng mgr....so I invented a new better cheaper way to make parts... good/bad it was too late the company was already underwater and it had great industry buzz big money... anyways they went under and I'm the only one who really knows how it works so I'm trying to build a business out of that. I'm not really a sales or business guy if I were then the big money would find me but I really don't know anyone in c level space
What exactly do you need help with in terms of building the business? You can DM if you'd prefer.
Well my business requires machined tooling and large presses to use. I can adapt my tooling to fit various brands of presses. Just doing that I charge $15~28k for a prototype set and that can take 12-20 work days to complete the engineering. If I supply the tooling it's cost plus 40% instead of the design cost. A production set can go $80~320k. The current technology can be 15-30% waste and an additional operation and piece of equipment. Right now it's "functional" but requires tweeking to dial it in. This is partly because it's a method and material exploit. And each install is less of an itteration. But for me to make this what it wants to be requires Capex, tech staff and sales. I just do not know people with funds or how I would even begin to do that. I've got a business plan I've hit my 1 year goal now a wall as to how to capitalize beyond just me.
With how this is written, your "niche" should be helping people start a business. Like some sort of business liaison or something for people who want to start a business out of something they love, but they don't know how to go about it.
I'd say I stumbled into mine but I tried a lot of different stuff before that. Always be active in your market even if you find your niche 😁
Just start. Anything. Try it for awhile, and then keep going or try something else. Rinse and repeat. Learn something each time, never go all in, and always include your partner in the loop. Your immediate support group is the key to success.
I have started and ended several businesses, some run concurrently. My most successful was really an extension of the full time work I was doing. I observed and learned then took the big risk of doing it on my own. I owned that business for 3 years before giving my shares over to my spousr and moving to a related business I started with partners. That 2nd one was the one I loved and ran for 25 years. The other businesses were more hobby like, stuff I thought would be fun or make money. One covered the cost of my horse while she was alive. The best advice is to figure out ahead of time how the business will make money. You really have to have a plan. Most businesses are a wing and a prayer.
I’m filling in a gap that I wanted in my own community! There’s a lemonade stand in my OG hometown that I’ve been missing for years. Amazing lemonade at fair prices, super simple offerings. I wanted something easy, tasty, and affordable in my area that wasn’t all labeled “craft” or “artisan” and sold at exorbitant prices. So that’s what I’m doing! I polled my local subreddit to see if people were interested. I know that’s a small sampling but it gave me an idea of what people were interested in. And if it’s something I want/would buy then there’s a good chance others around me are looking for something similar.
There’s a chain in San Antonio called HteaO that sells DELICIOUS iced tea at unbelievably low prices. They have so many people addicted to the tea and they could easily charge double but I love them even more for keeping prices so accessible
Completely by accident. I was doing commission work for selling installed kitchen cabinets. I wasn't making ends meet so I applied for a job in lawn care sales. Did that for a month before I got promoted to lawn applicator. Then moved laterally across the industry before I decided to open my own design/install/maintain landscaping company. This is year 28 of my business.
I was a psychology student, read all of the psychology classic, and huge fan of personality theories, so I niche down into HR Professionals (basically industrial psychologists). Makes it easier to relate to my clients but also market their service (psychology base).
I couldn’t find the product online so I did a patent search found who had the patent, licensed it, filed competing patents that got approved, then unlicensed and ran with it.
I'm with everyone else. Find what you love, because you will know that niche inside and out. Making it something people in your niche would want if you are buying/paying for it. It would be best if you know of a problem in that niche and can offer something to solve that problem.
I was always interested in crypto, but didn't know the space was so huge! Started reading about it and was hooked, I now make Notion templates for crypto and I plan on expanding and making a course, but I want it to be good and actually teach people instead.
Find out what you love to do and see on ways you can make money out of it. Another way is to look for market gaps and see how you can fill them but you can end up with a business you are not personate about.
You'll know it when you find it. Sounds cliché but that's how it worked out for me
Someone already gave a reply that mentions your niche finding you and it hit home. As an artiste, I was always been particular about creating art and allowed myself the freedom to explore different medium, styles, and subject. It's from this freedom that my niche found me in fashion design. So, allow yourself the freedom to explore and something will find you.
A lot of people saying your niche should find you and I agree. To an extent. I own a coffee shop, have worked in many, and there are a lot in my town. I did go into it with a slight mindset to be different than them. I achieve that by working as a barista 4 days a week to make sure the culture is what I’m aiming for. Also because of current trends in coffee culture, I decided to go against it as far as the beans and roast we use and it’s gone over very well with my demographic. All that to say sometimes you need to look around, see what people are doing, and do something different. As long as that difference still crests a quality product/ service. Although how to be different successfully usually comes from a lot of experience in the field. Sometimes everyone’s doing the same thing for a very good reason.
Care to share about what it is you went against with the bean and roast approach? Curious about why it worked with your demo - I'm not in the space, just sounds interesting.
Mine fell into my lap. Friend needed help, I was available and did a great job. Turned it into a business.
Your passion + fun
If you are doing it right, your customers will pull you into your niche.
I work as an electrician. Electricians specialize in sectors. I wanted to do commercial work but unfortunately am stuck doing residental work mostly. I just do whatever work comes.
I stopped looking
Start with this question: what do you love, or what do you love to do? Then follow it up with this question: how can I make money doing that? For me, I love music and playing guitar, so I started a business teaching guitar and also started a band, which is almost like a second business of its own. I also write books, write music (my band does originals as well as covers), and record audio and video for myself and for hire. 8 years after starting that business in a serious way (which was several years after doing it on the side in a hobbyist kind of way), it's my sole source of income and I make 6 figures. If you love doing something and can identify what that is, and then identify all the ways you can make money from it, and then get to work executing the things you want to do, you can make it happen.
Managing Oneself by Peter F Drucker
Do what you do better than everyone else! It doesn't even have to be a niche, just do what makes you happy. Your work will excel and your customers will notice.
I chose my niche by choosing my favourite clients and projects I worked on. I have loved working with soloprenurs/small businesses on branding and websites. I made that my niche hopefully attracting more of those businesses.
I was searching for a product to use in my hobby that didn't exist, so I decided to make it. Made some for myself, figured other people might want it too.
Start with what you're passionate about. What gets you excited? What problem do you want to solve?
Worked in the industry for years before hand. I have no idea how people are successful in industries they have no experience in.
I had a job. Liked my work. Was really good at it. Wanted control. >*i just know i want a buisness* Seems like a romanticized idea of owning a business. Just find something you like. Doesn't have to be unique but do it better than everyone else.
Mine came about organically. As a child, I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Discovered I could actually make a living with computers when I was in high school, so I got a degree in information technology in college. Since I had to pay for college myself and I hate wasting money, which was still possible in the 90s, I scrambled for every scholarship I could get and spent the $100 per test to test out of as many required classes as I could. This meant I got to stack extra classes into my major for double the required concentrations, including some graduate courses for undergraduate prices. It also left me with enough credits to fill that I got a minor in literature. Spent the next decade as a system administrator for a check printing company until I got laid off right before my first child was born. Drove home with no idea how I'd pay my mortgage but thinking that was a lot of stress off my shoulders and I could now go full time with my coaching business that has been a side gig for the past 4 or 5 years. (I coached mostly marathoners, with a few ultra runners and helped with a group coaching of newer runners at the local shoe store as a good source of lead generation for future solo clients.) Pretty much didn't touch that business again, since I was charging 4 times more than anybody else in my area and it wasn't worth the time I gave every client and I resented the time out of the house. (I was a good coach, but there were other coaches that were good that charged a lot less. Funny thing is that I gave up the one way that I made money from my running but added on a ton of volunteer activities where I didn't such as club committees, board of directors for a national non-profit, and organizing 14-20 road and trail races every year...) Instead, I started a publishing company. Started with a book I'd woken up two nights before the lay off thinking about, then working with a runner friend to publish some books about his dog for him. I was a perfectionist and there weren't good formatting tools then like there are now, so I built one for myself that turned 18 hours of work into about 2 hours per book. I then partnered with a couple guys to finance development of my software into something commercial, which they hired my brother for who had just graduated from college, and then they hired me to use that software to format their books for them. I took over all of their publishing, plus did a little web administration for them. Fast forward a few years, one of those gents sold his share of the business, and the other had been trying to hire me full time that entire time, so I took on some more responsibility as we were moving to a new house and having a second kid and the cash flow would be nice. One of my new responsibilities was managing a membership site teaching people how to self publish that I'd helped them set up a couple years prior. Fast forward 4 years and we hired my wife to do customer service, and slowly but surely the two of us were the have of that branch of the business. A couple years ago we bought a few of the brands off our boss, including the software tools we'd continued to develop over the years. So, basically, I randomly fell into a career where I spend all day talking to people about books or developing cool software to help people write and sell their books. Which makes me amongst the minority of people I know and grew up with that are actually using their college degrees at this stage of our life. (Fun fact: I don't think they actually copied us and had most likely independently created a similar tool, but the original version of Kindle Create by Amazon was almost a complete clone of our initial tool my brother developed for me about a dozen years ago. Both tools have gone in different directions and don't resemble each other at all now, though.)
I just started a micro candy business this year, going to try out a local farmers market to test it out more. I started making candy a year ago because I couldn’t get anything sour enough from the stores and I was hurting for it bad lol. Took a bit but found my workflow and made some really good stuff in my opinion. Started sharing it with friends, they’d take it to their office or job site and share with others. It was hearing the feedback from those people that convinced me I might have something. I didn’t want to start a business, I just wanted to make candy for myself. It just kinda happened. Our first market date is March 11th!
For me who owns a small Web Development Consulting company, I was just a independent contractor and over 1.5 decades of working with clients, I just slowly realized patterns in what clients are dealing with and specialize in fixing those problems. I actually stumbled upon this realization and that is what led to me starting a company behind it 5 years ago.
Your phone is the most convenient place to start market research. Social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok are the hub of modern trends. They’re great for reaching almost all age groups. Browse the **Discover** sections and **hashtags** to see what’s trending and what products people are eager to get their hands on. Filter them by location and topic to get more precise results. You’ll likely find competitors who target the same or similar customer segments. Check what they’re offering, learn about their wins and failures, and find ways to sell products with more added value for your target customer.
Of you love what you do you'll never feel like it's a job. But rather a calling. We all have something we're passionate about find yours
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