8 Signs that You Might Be In the Wrong Niche

The word “niche” originates from the French verb nicher, to make a nest. For me it implies a small, comfortable place where you belong. In the world of work niche also refers to where you fit, the spot that feels right for you. When you are in a job you can either accept the niche you’ve been assigned or try to shift it to something that fits you better. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s impossible. That’s why particularly women are leaving the corporate world in droves.

The freedom of self-employment means you can pick your niche. You can pick who you want to serve and who you don’t want to serve, how you want to work, where you want to work and with whom.

Despite this freedom, it is difficult to know what your right niche is before you actually start working with clients. Here are 8 signs that you might be in the wrong niche:

1. You keep comparing yourself to other people.

You are in the wrong niche when you are externally focused. If you are envious or comparing yourself to others, there is something about their niche that you find attractive. Envy or jealousy points to an interest, an intrigue or an attraction – probably more attractive than your current niche.

2. You feel drained by the clients you attract.

Your body is the best indicator that your niche is wrong. If you feel drained by most of your clients, then your niche is wrong.

3. Your niche doesn’t match your temperament.

How you get to work is also part of your niche. Are you more comfortable working with a team? Alone? With a partner? Do you need the stimulation of new places, new activities and people or can you work for mostly alone for long periods of time?

If you have an extraverted preference it’s draining to work alone. If you have an introverted preference it’s draining to have the amount of interaction you have controlled by other people.

4. You don’t come up with new ideas on how to serve your clients or customers.

When you are in the right niche it feels like falling in love. You want to learn all that you can about that thing you love and so you are constantly coming up with new ways to serve. You also tap into the power of big “L” love – the connection with the divine. That’s where creativity comes from. Once you make this connection, ideas come through you not from you. When you are in the wrong niche, the idea tap turns off.

5. You are more concerned with keeping what you’ve already got than growth.

In the wrong niche you lead with fear and not with love – trying to conserve rather than expand. It’s like playing defence in a hockey game in the third period when the score is tied. You are just holding on and inevitably, you’ll lose.

6. Your niche isn’t in demand.

Even if you absolutely love your niche, if you don’t have people who want to buy what you offer, then you are in the wrong one. In order to make a living being self-employed you have to offer something that people value and want to buy. If your niche isn’t in demand, then you’ve found a hobby, not a livelihood.

7. Your niche doesn’t showcase your uniqueness.

For your business to be sustainable – work over the long run, your niche needs to showcase your gifts and your talents. That’s how you’ll maintain your enthusiasm and positive energy over the long term. If your niche doesn’t showcase you then it’s wrong for you.

8. What you say doesn’t match what you do.

Congruence between who you are and what you present in your business is essential. You have to live it to give it. If you don’t do what you say, it’ll show eventually and your business will fail.

It’s never a mistake to pick the wrong niche. The mistake is not shifting your niche when you know it’s not for you.

Don’t forget that it’s virtually impossible to figure out your niche in your head, you need to Try Stuff Out.

Listen to your body signals. The wrong niche feels like boredom, a big sigh and the right niche feels like lightness and an adventure.