Don't Love Your Niche

What I am about to say is going to fly in the face of what a lot of people are advising in this forum and what has been touted as gospel in the IM world in general for quite some time. I just read an excellent post by Daniel E Taylor and it really summed things up for me which has many elements in what I want to share with you.

Don't love your niche.

So many courses that I've done since entering the IM world and so many posts I've read tout the 'immutable' advice thus far bereft of challenge - "Choose a niche you're passionate about and you're more likely to succeed".

I could not disagree more.

Choose a niche you maybe interested in but not particularly knowledgeable about? Yes. Choose a niche you're rather impartial to? Yes. Choose a niche you really couldn't give a damn about? Yes - and you're far more likely to succeed.

You see, another notion that has been ever present in the IM world is, "If you want to succeed in internet marketing, treat it as a business". This, I could not agree MORE.

A business owner and a niche enthusiast are two completely different beasts. One is interested in turning profits, the other is interested in content.

When you enter into a business that you are passionate about you automatically introduce many factors than can ultimately count against your success as a business owner. I might be a great guitar player and music enthusiast, but as a niche to specialize in, I may be doing myself an ultimate disservice for the same very reason. Sure I might love what I'm marketing, but can that love get in the way of my business intentions? Very much so.

1) Impartiality. When you enter a niche as a non-expert but with a business mindset, you are far more open to seeing opportunities without your pre-defined notions of what you may think is the best way to achieve a result, best product to buy, best information to disseminate.

2) Ego. Ego is a huge factor in the 'passionate' and can be a huge hindrance to time management and ultimately profits. If as a business owner, I am ultimately passionate about my niche instead of my business, my involvement in injecting my own views/advice/knowledge into content is going to be paramount in my priorities. My ability to happily outsource many business owner time inefficient duties will be greatly reduced. It would also be a lot more fun to 'tweet' my advice all day on social media websites than to use my time wisely in systemizing my business and appointing social media managers to handle the PR.

A great piece of advice I heard a few years ago on this one is as follows: "When inspecting an investment property, what you would consider a dive, some would consider a palace. Remove ego - If the numbers work, it's a sound investment."

3) Dismissal of opportunities. If I subscribed to the "passionate niche" school of thought, I would often miss many opportunities in niches that I care less for, but could still implement money-getting methods into - possibly yielding far more profits than my niche of passion would.

4) Inability to exit. If you really love the ship you're on, you'll happily sink with it. People who feel passionately about their chosen niche will have a far harder time letting go if the numbers tell them it's time to move on. I've seen many people go broke holding onto the idea that that one more tweak, or final financial injection into their beloved business idea will see it skyrocket to riches, even though the market has stated that it does not share their enthusiasm.

So to summarize, I hold this view from some advice I heard in the offline world a few years ago and have not yet seen fail. A well known entrepreneur shared a simple wisdom with me that has stuck in both offline and online ventures - "My passion is business, and that's what I do."

His school of thought was that all niche businesses can be made profitable, whether you're a fan or not. He was happy to own laundromats, restaurants, hairdressers, property development company's and media publishing companies. His advice was very simple - Stay impartial, possess a business mindset and hire an expert in your chosen niche as your adviser.

I guess the caveat to this post is be passionate about building a business. If you love the niche, and can divorce yourself from your ego, go for it. If you're in it for the niche itself and just want to monetize your passion - you're a busker, not a business owner.

Happy Marketing!