How to Find Your Niche

Four years ago, I sat in a lecture given in Chicago by Thomas Plummer, one of the greatest fitness business minds in the world. He said a lot of things in that lecture that made sense like why you should pay yourself first and why exit planning is important. However, the one thing that stood out in my mind was an observation that would change my thought process totally.

He said, “Generalists eat last. People seek out those who specialize.” I almost couldn’t concentrate on the rest of the lecture because my mind was transfixed by this idea.

After that conference, I did research to confirm this theory, and over the subsequent months I heard countless stories on the radio, in the news and in person of people flying across country—and beyond—to seek out alternative cancer treatments or for orthopedic appointments all in the name of working with the best at what they do.

One example of this is Kobe Bryant, who suffers from degeneration in one of his knees. In order to treat his condition, he flew all the way to Germany to see a doctor by the name of Dr. Peter Wehling. Dr. Wehling is an orthopedist who created a treatment called PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy), a process where basically the blood is removed from the patient, mixed with other substances and placed back in the knee. While it’s true that the FDA hasn’t approved the whole treatment in the US, Kobe Bryant went to Germany because that’s where Dr. Wehling’s practice was.

So what’s the point? When you specialize in something, people will seek you out no matter where you are. Without specialization, your business will be viewed as average, whether that’s true or not. When you show potential clients that your business’s focus is on one specific modality or style, then they are more likely to look for you when they are seeking a solution to that problem.

So ask yourself, what do I do better than everyone else? Once you figure that out, you need to find out why people purchase that from you. Is it your delivery, quality, convenience or something else?

Think of it like this: if you love teaching HIIT classes, you want to attract customers who love taking HIIT classes. If you don’t make HIIT your niche, you may attract the wrong customers to your business—which won’t help your or your customers’ goals.

Once you find your niche, market it like a mad person, using the same language that customers use when they describe why they purchase from you. We all excel at something. Find out what that is for you, and people will find you wherever you are.