Without credibility you will have a real hard time to get potential clients or partners to open that door for you!  Unfortunately building credibility is a slow process that takes time and effort, especially if you are just starting out it can be a really hard job!  So what can you do to speed things up a bit?

How to build your credibility?

Credibility is based on building trust and the relationship with potential clients.  In many ways it is very similar to going on a blind date!  Would you meet somebody you hardly know, or would you want to have more information about them, and build a picture of what they are like?  And if a friend would have set you up, aren’t you more likely to meet them?

The same is indeed valid for building your credibility in your work.  Building your credibility is about building relationships over time, but also about how you present yourself to the world in the best possible way.  And, if you do one thing ‘wrong’, it can damage your credibility beyond repair (like many banks are currently experiencing!).

So where do you start?

• Identify your niche and specific target market. Are you a small fish in a big pond, or a big fish in a small pond?  You will build your profile and credibility quicker if your pond is small. Then, within this smaller group, it is far easier to identify exactly who you need to talk to.  Depending on what you do, there might only be 5 specific people in the whole world who need to know about what you do and how you do it, and that can result in more work than you ever expected!  So firstly, identify who your specific potential clients are, who are the actual decision makers (this can be tricky as they might be hiding!), what they want and need, what their worries are, how you can solve their challenges and issue, and what is stopping them buying from you.  If you know the question to this last question, you will be nearly there!  Then be creative in how you approach them and start building a relationship with them. (If you want to learn more about identifying your niche, then click here for a previous blog on that topic)
• What are your features and more importantly benefits? Your features include the ‘facts’ about you i.e. your strengths, skills, special talents, background or life experience, qualifications, previous career or training.  But people rarely buy on factual info, they want to know what the benefits are for them.  As a social enterprise do you know what impact you are really creating on the ground?  Help your clients by identifying the benefits for them: Ask yourself the question: So what? And write all the different responses to each different feature. A great example of how this can work in practice was a PR graduate I worked with a couple of years ago.  She was worried about her lack of experience, but still managed to land herself a biggish job against a far more experienced agency.  At the end of the project she asked her client why they had selected her (in her own eyes she was an inexperienced, young graduate).  Their answer was: ‘We were looking for somebody who was really hungry to work with us, passionate, with lots of new ideas, and that is what we got’ (and probably cheaper too!)  So, if you are able to identify any questions or obstacles that potential clients might have about working with you and are able to answer them or even better turn them around to your advantage, then you will be landing work.
• Take it in steps! Building a relationship takes time.  Just like going on a blind date!  Firstly identify who the person is, find out more about this person (Linked In and twitter are great for this),make contact, see if there is an interest, set up a meeting or presentation, see if you like each other and can work together, only then start discussing business. Start small and grow from there.  If you jump too quickly and are too pushy, then you will not get anywhere.  When you first meet them, find out what they want, what their needs are, try to get a meeting to discuss it further, but don’t straight away start selling yourself, as it will put people off.
• Answer the questions before they are asked, not just by written information but especially by demonstrating that you can be trusted to do the work in time and on budget.  Your potential clients need to believe that you can deliver what you say, that they can trust you with personal or confidential information, that they like you and feel safe with you, that working with you will be at least worthwhile and ideally very beneficial to them.  You can show this by presenting the clients or projects you have worked with so far, share your knowledge and expertise, have a Q&A on your website.  Approach potential clients and really listen to the questions that they have, and answer them honestly and confidently.  If they have got questions then they are positively engaged already, they might just not yet be ready to purchase from you.
• Follow the basic rules of engagement in your tribe. It is a must that you know how to speak the lingo, dress, know the latest gossip or have an opinion about certain discussions.  Attend networking, training events or get your professional news on line.  Body language more than anything you say or write will impact on your credibility!  Are you confident but not arrogant, do people like to talk to you?  Know what the discussions are, who the important people are, what is going on.  Knowing when the best time is to approach people for sales is part of building credibility and knowing your market (for example I don’t offer any business training to crafts businesses in the Autumn as they will be too busy selling their work!)
• Get the basics right! Having a business name instead of using your own name might improve your credibility (except for artists, but even then you might want to think about what name you will use).  Being a Limited Company can also provide increased credibility.  It is a given that you have at least a basic website (a one pager will do for some!), a professional printed business card, and a professional email address (foxylady1966@yahoo will not do).  Having good images of you and your work in action will also add to your credibility.  For some people it might be important to have a professional looking address or indeed work in a specific postcode area (Shoreditch or Soho is a must for some of my clients).  I am still surprised how often I see new businesses failing at this first hurdle.
• Let others do the hard work. Testimonials, referrals, and good case studies are one of the most effective ways to build your business (more about this below).  Ask your ex-clients or ex-employers for specific testimonials that you can use on your website or Linked In profile.  The more specific and results orientated the better (i.e. ‘John is a great photographer and great to work with’ is less powerful than ‘John really understood what I wanted from our wedding pictures.  He really captured this wonderful day for us, and will keep the memories so much more alive.  Thank you John’.
• Who do you work with? If your business looks bigger than it is (i.e. include partners on your website) will help with credibility.  I have even seen a graphic company hiring some ‘bumps on seats’ when an important client visited for the first time, just to make it look like they could handle the large contract (PS it worked)!  But also who are your current and past clients, partners, freelancers, board members, mentors and advisers?  What level of business do they work at, how well known or respected are they, do you understand their challenges and needs?  Being associated with certain people will lend you credibility.  Mention them on your website (ask permission first!), or get recommended or recommend them.
• Provide more than you promise. You will build up your credibility by going the extra mile for your clients, give them something extra, and in return they will start recommending you to their contacts.  Be honest on what you can do and what you can’t.  If you overpromise and can’t deliver your reputation will be damaged.
• What do you charge? Your price is directly related to where you position yourself in the market, even before people are actually ready to buy.  Your price level will raise certain expectations and aspirations.  If you are charging a price much higher or lower than the going rate that will tell potential clients that you don’t know the market. Offering the lowest price will not help you build your credibility, especially if you value great quality or developing longer term business relationships.
• In general terms: small business do business with small businesses, large businesses with large ones. This means that very often unfortunately you need to start at the bottom of the ladder, and that you build up your reputation and experience over time.  So it is not necessarily your fault that you are unable to open the doors of a big organisation, you just need to be patient!  Especially if you sell to trade clients they wait often 3 years or so to see if you survive, then will place a small order and will see how that goes, and then will hopefully start placing bigger orders.  The same is valid for funders – if you never have had any grants then it will be very unlikely that you will get a £50K+ grant.  Start small, proof yourself and keep people informed about the great work you are doing!  (PS I am very happy if you proof me wrong on this statement!  Especially if you provide a very unique service or solution you might be able to jump the queue.)

What else can I do specifically to build my credibility?

Once you have put these initial credibility foundation stones in place, there are 3 specific promotional areas that are most effective to build your credibility (based on CJ Hayden’s marketing strategies for professional services): networking & referral building, public speaking and writing & publicity.

Networking and referral building

• Getting people to refer you to potential clients is one of the most effective credibility tools you can use.  Being introduced by somebody they trust, will make it much more likely that they will be interested in you. Who have you worked with who can provide referrals? How can you approach them to brief them on who you are looking for?  Who else is working with your target market but in a non-competitive way?  Can you set up a regular referral partner meeting with 6-10 businesses working in the same field, or can you create informal partnerships where you help each other?  Most happy clients are very pleased to talk about you and give you referrals, testimonials or case studies, as long as you actually ask them!
• Identify specific events (on or off line) where people who might want to work with you or purchase from you will attend.  It doesn’t matter if they are small, these are often better than large scale events where you can’t find anybody.  Think outside of the usual box of large scale networking events, but think about training events, exhibitions or online forums.  Don’t waste your time at events that are full of your peers but without anybody with buying power.
• Speak at a networking or training event.  Even a well placed question in a public place, leading to a good discussion, can increase your credibility.
• Volunteering in a visible position can be a great credibility booster, if it is for the right profile organisation or project.  You can learn a lot, and use it for your CV.
• Giving good referrals to others is a very effective way to build your credibility, both to the potential client and the person you refer.  It shows that you have got a good network of contacts, and that you know your own strengths and talents and prefer to focus on these (instead of doing a lesser job).  Especially if you do this with business clients they will appreciate your honesty and knowledge, and will be more likely to come back to you in the future.  Giving referrals also will increase the likelihood that you will get referrals back (‘they will owe you one’).
• Staying in touch with potential and ex-clients will build your credibility, especially when customer service is essential to your business.  Sending a personal birthday or Christmas card, or sending a recommendation by e-mail for a book or other resource (‘I saw this and thought of you’), can remind people of you and build your credibility as a person who cares about their clients and understands their challenges.

Public speaking

• Speaking in public can increase your credibility dramatically.  Not just at the event itself, but also using this as a way to let people know about you or remind them that you are out there.
• More people are scared of speaking in public than dying …. but even if that includes you think a bit out of the box as there is a variety of things you can do prior to being the main speaker at a conference! Chairing committee meetings, serving on discussion panels, developing and running your own workshops, or just a short intro video on your website can do wonders.  And even just contributing as a participant to a discussion in a workshop or asking a powerful question at a major event, can lead to great networking opportunities afterwards.

Writing and publicity

• Writing articles or columns for specialist print publications or blogs to share your expertise and resources. These articles don’t just reach the readers, but you can maximise your exposure by emailing or tweeting it to your database, linking it on your website, or posting it on Yahoo or Linked In groups.  You can also give an additional report or e-book away to readers as an extra bonus (don’t forget to get their name and email address).  If it is a regular column than people will start to remember you as an expert.  The better known the publication or blog, obviously the better for your credibility.  But even a very specialist article for a niche market read by 23 people can make you the expert in your field and grab the attention of the person you want to work with.
• Responding to questions on forums is a great way to share your expertise.  Don’t try to sell yourself too much though, as this will work against you and you might actually be barred (plus most readers hate it!).
• Being quoted by the media is a great credibility booster!  Approach journalists in your expertise area, or respond to online forums to create opportunities like this.
• Get stories and images published about you, and then maximise your exposure by re-circulating them.  Identify specific journalists and bloggers with similar interests in your area, research them and get to know them (i.e. follow them on twitter, check out Linked In), respond to their articles, and then approach them.

Favourite business development books for creatives:

Books about creative business development:

The Crafts Council’s Running a Workshop – Basic Business for Craftspeople written by Barclay Price is a classic, and has unfortunately been out of print for a while (but you can still get it second hand). A very clear, uncluttered book (no images or case studies), but with lots of practical info to dip in and out of during your career.

Screw Work Lets Play – How To Do What You Love And Get Paid For It by John Williams is becoming a creative bestseller, and one of my favourites.  John manages to tell stories of his own life and his client’s, and combines them with practical info and thought provoking questions.  This book is really a must if you aren’t sure what to do, or if you feel like you don’t earn enough with your work.  You can download a free chapter on the website.  John also organises the so called Scanners Nights, the monthly networking events for creatives.

Adrian Shaughnessy’s How to Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul gives a great insight into the huge variety of jobs that design graduates can go into. That in itself is a great achievement! Very practical info, combined with great contradictory opinions, plus some great quotes and short interviews with designers.

Shan Preddy’s How to Market Design Consultancy Services is a classic. One of the first books that I bought on this topic of creative business development.  My copy is from 1997, and it is still surprisingly relevant due to good case studies and some great practical exercises that gets you doing instead of talking about marketing.

Alison Branagan recenly published The Essential Guide to Business for Artists & Designers.  It is a really thoroughly researched book that covers all the basics for when you have recently graduates.  Lots of resources and links to follow up to keep information up to date.

Books about selling:

C.J. Hayden’s Get Clients Now – a 28-day marketing program for professionals, consultants, and coaches is one of my favourite sales books as it combines strategic thinking about where you are stuck in the marketing cycle (Haven’t got enough contacts?, You are not following up?, You are not getting sales meetings?, Or not getting deals?) with  lots of ideas and knowledge about 100′s of different marketing tools that you can start using immediately.  One of the first books that combines strategy, with practical ideas while also tackling the procrastination, fear and resistance that most people have about sales.  There is lots of free marketing and sales info available on the website.  I am a certified GCN facilitator.

Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port really gets you to work on what makes you unique, what are your ideal clients, what gives you credibility and trustworthiness, and only then starts talking about the different promotional techniques you can use.  Very practical book (if you actually do the exercises, and don’t skimp them!), but also goes deep into what makes you different and how to communicate that.  You can get a couple of free chapters of this book on his website, including one around how to build you own personal brand, which is really great!

The Secrets of Selling – How to win in any sales situation by Geoff King is a nicely designed book that gives lots of practical examples and templates i.e. writing proposals, use the telephone for selling, writing mailshots etc.

Favourite e-books for creatives:

Business Startup Guides:

The Design Trust’s Business Startup Guide for Designers and Makers is an excellent, online free guide that covers all the basic information that you need to know when you want to start your own design or crafts business.  I very often recommend it, particularly for info on pricing your work, and basic copyright questions.  It’s also very useful for other creatives such as photographers and artists.

David Parrish’s T-Shirts and Suits – a Guide to the Business of Creativity is another firm favourite of mine.  It’s a very colourful book that now has been published for free as an e-book.  There are some great exercises and especially case studies that might really help you to understand the creative market place better.

Design business guides: The UK’s Design Council has developed a couple of very short but practical guides around a variety of topics, such as Managing Client Relations, Employment Law For Designers, and for me the most interesting one about new business models and specifically how to partner with your clients called Royalties, Equity Stakes and Shared Risk.

Market development: Barbara Gunter-Jones wrote a very interesting report for Designer Maker West Midlands about the various (international) marketing opportunties available to crafts people, from residencies to working in public art and exporting.  The DMWM New Routes Handbook is especially interesting through all the different case studies with images of designer makers who have gone out there for themselves.

Public commissions: Frances Lord has written a thorough free e-guide From Small to Big – Commissioning Handbook for Designer Maker West Midlands.  It is a bit dry with no images or case studies, but it really gives a clear overview of the process and all the little things to think about.

Time management for creatives: Mark McGuinness has written a couple of free e-books that are great for creatives, but my favourite must be Time Management for Creative People.  Mark is very much a story teller, but he always ends his stories with great questions for you to answer and ponder over!  Gets you thinking about the deeper issues about how you manage your time.

Favourite business development e-tools for creatives:

Running a Design Business: The UK’s Design Council has developed a couple of insightful online videos about Running a Design Business and A Career In Design interviewing Neville Brody, Barber Osgerby and Lloyd Pearson amongst others.  Especially useful for recent graduates.

Social Media: Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income has developed some great, short and simple ‘How to do’ videos.  My current favourite is 5 Easy Tricks to Get Facebook Clients Fast. They are really userfriendly and have improved my knowledge of social media more than reading any books or other blogs!

Public speaking: My lovely coaching colleague Sarah Lloyd Hughes of Ginger Training and Coaching has just launched a free online tool to improve your public speaking, called Ginger Doodles.  It is an e-course: 50 days, 50 doodles, 50  public speaking tips.  They will help you to become a more inspiring public speaker, and give questions and tasks every day.

Where? The Hub (for social entrepreneurs) in Angel, London

More than ever it is important to build trust and credibility in business. But how do you do that? Especially if you have only just started, and there is limited evidence of your expertise?

During this 9th Social Entrepreneurs Anonymous session we will discuss how to build your credibility with potential clients and partners. Why it is important to build trust and how to specifically do that. We will ask each other questions, just like what your potential clients might want to know about you, so that you can provide the answers easily and confidently. We will brainstorm a whole range of tools that you can easily use to introduce your social enterprise.

These sessions for startup social entrepreneurs are facilitated by Patricia van den Akker, an experienced business adviser and coach. Sessions are a mix of group coaching and discussion, games and tasks, feedback and fun. The more you put in, the more you get out!

Sessions are held monthly at the Hub in Islington (normally on the second Monday of the month!). FREE for Hub Members, £4 for non-members. Limited places available, and please register!

Registration through Event Brite:

(Many of my crafts clients focus on the high end luxury market, but they actually hate working for rich people who don’t appreciate their skills and love for making their hand-made work.  On the other end of the scale, I have worked in and with various non-profit organisations were ‘chasing the money’ became more important than actually serving the end users.  Both are very easy traps to fall into – especially when things get financially desperate!)

Don’t make that mistake! The end result is that you will feel upset, frustrated, uninspired and won’t do the best work you can do.  To be able to have a thriving and sustainable business you need to have a passion for your work and work with people who inspire you, to give you the energy to keep going and improve all the time!

Exercise 1 to identify my niche market

1. Who are your (current) client groups or target markets? Identify specific facts about them i.e. gender, location, industry, age. What are they interested in, what do the read, what hobbies have they got?  And then go a bit deeper than the facts: what do they dream about, what are their worries or challenges, what do they need help with?  It really can help you to write a short story about your client group, who they are, what they do.  Or create a collage     with collected images of what they would look like, what they wear, what they read.
2. Who are your favourite clients? Who do you like forward to seeing again and working with?  What kind of personality, energy or values have they got?  What are their challenges or dreams?  It is for this group of people that you will make your best work, and that is the best and easiest marketing possible!  Look at the overlap with your current client groups, and identify what the gap is between your existing clients and your favourite clients. You might need to face the fact that you want to sack some clients who you don’t want to work for….
3. What are you passionate about? What are your special talents?  What are your core values?  What specific services would you offer? What is your ‘soap box’ topic? What are you obsessed about – and doesn’t feel like work at all?  Be as specific as you can.  Often we are too close to ourselves to really see these, so you might like to contact 5 people from across your life to answer these questions for you!
4. What makes you you? What are your own demographics? What are your hobbies or life challenges that might connect you to a specific audience? What can you deliver, how do you deliver, when can you deliver?  What are your specific talents and strenghts?  This is really about: what makes you uniquely you?  If you can figure this out, and communicate that well, then you get something that is very difficult to replicate.
5. If you combine these different areas, what is the (partial) overlap?  This is called the sweet spot. Maybe at this stage you can identify a couple of overlaps, just dot them down for now. Can you make a list now with the names of 20 potential clients for each of these sweet spots?  If not, you might need to do some more research by digging deeper or by researching more potential clients.
6. Go out there and try these different sweet spots. Nothing beats actual feedback from potential clients!  Have some fun with it, try out different ways of introducing yourself, of presenting yourself.  Find out if there is a market who is willing to pay for what you do. Tweak it if necessary, just a slight different approach might do the trick!

So to really sum it up: niche marketing is a combination of you and your talents and what the market wants – indeed what gives you energy and where do you want to spend your energy?!

My own journey

To discover my own niches I have gone through lots of different paths.  I trained in graphic design, and knew earlier on that I would be best in managing creatives than being one!  I work specifically with creative and social entrepreneurs and small business owners in the UK and the Netherlands.  I have become more interested in social enterprises over the last couple of years as I worked in one, and I think there is a better way of doing business for our families, communities and the world (and also we need to be creative with income generation in these economic times!)  I have got a lot of experience in working with clients through my role as business adviser, and working in similar companies myself. I know very specifically what business areas my potential clients need help with, but also the emotional and financial benefits working with me can provide (i.e. more clarity in their vision, more confidence in their own judgement, a clear to do list targeted at getting clients, having somebody there as a friendly kind of executive director when you work by yourself).

I have learnt the hard way to state now more clearly that I work specifically with creative people in design and crafts, and that I want to work with passionate and talented people only who want to really get into action to put in the hard work to create a better business for themselves, their families and the world (I don’t like working with people who aren’t passionate, who turn up late, or expect a ‘fairy wand’ to do all the hard work for them. If I don’t believe in somebody’s business idea, then I find it difficult to work with them too.)  I now ask specifically for their commitment.

I have also recently become very interested in online learning, and the possibilities of that to create a more international business, with both online and telephone coaching (which is accessible to my busy clients wherever and whenever they want, and will allow me to use video and visualization exercises, and other creative tools).  Many of my (international) clients have very busy lives, and want creative and practical support (no boring office meetings!), so this fits perfectly. (So watch this space, as more online creative tools will be launched!)

Here are some other examples of my clients:

• My sister has got a disabled teenage daughter who is incontinent and sits in a wheelchair.  For a really long time my sister found it impossible to find funky, colourful clothes for her to wear.  She is a creative person, so started making her own clothes, and many of her friends commented positively.  Fast forward 5 years later and she has got a thriving online fashion business for disabled kids, that she can run while working around the demands of a very busy family life!  She is very good in getting referrals and repeat business due to her niche.  Her marketing mostly exist out of sending additional postcards with orders to hand out to friends, a monthly e-newsletter, and exhibiting at 2 disability trade fairs. (Check the website out here)
• A recent client wanted to become a freelancer in project management for social enterprises. She indeed had very strong project administration skills, took initiatives but also kept managers well informed, and very diplomatic with people in different situations.  She was fed up in her job, where she had little growth prospective and had lost her confidence.  She was worried about her job opportunities in the current economic climate, and didn’t really know where to go next.  We identified how important it was for her to work in and contribute to her local community, she is passionate about good food and yoga, and loves gardening.  She started working as a freelancer, identified that she needed additional fundraising training, and after some consultancy work and volunteering, she recently landed a great job as project manager at The People’s Supermarket.
• An illustrator I have worked with had designed lots of different products in different styles, working happily along without any strategic planning, but she knew she wasn’t selling as well as she knew she could.  After a trade show we realised that the products in itself were good, but that the collection and presentation was unclear to retailers.  We simplified her collection together, ordering products around different themes and styles (giving each collection a working title i.e. fairy tales, 1950’s Copenhagen), identifying target groups (i.e. Bollywood Kitsch, Vintage High Street Gift Shop, Colourful Brighton) which made it easier to identify potential retailers.  We also cut out more than 60% of the collection, and added new products at different (higher!) price levels.  She recently exhibited at Top Drawer (the giftware trade show) with her ‘new’ collections, and sales were up by 150%!

Exercise 2 to identify your niche: 7 passions, 7 problems, 7 fears

This is an exercise I picked up from Pat Flynn of The Smart Passive Income Blog.  On his blog he writes specifically about a niche challenge with a friend and gives an insight in his process of how to develop a niche website, highly targeted with key words etc.  To identify his niche he brainstorms and mind maps 7 passions, 7 problems and 7 fears that people regularly have.  He then selects out of that group a list of 10 potential niches based on what interests him the most.  You might like to watch his video here.

(PS I personally do have a bit of a problem with niche web sites that seem to be only created for profitability reasons, with the people behind it having very limited real understanding of the market or the products or services.  I think it is much stronger to have an integrated business based on your passions and strengths, that is promoted in real life as well as on the web.  I think that most potential clients are savvy enough to see through purely commercial websites, without any passion behind it.)

If you liked this article, you also might like my earlier blog about How to start with niche marketing

There is a lot of talk on small business websites about the importance of creating your own niche.  So what is that all about?

What is niche marketing?

A niche is a focused, targetable part of the market.  You are a specialist providing a product or service that focuses on specific client group’s needs, which cannot or are not addressed in such detail by mainstream providers.

However, it is important to understand that there is a difference between your niche and your target market.  Your target market is the specific group of people you work for, i.e. young unemployed women in Liverpool, organic farmers in Kent, yoga teachers in the UK.  Your niche is the service you specialise in offering to your target market.  For example there will be various organisations working with young unemployed women in Liverpool, but they offer different services i.e. drop-in career services and support, online ITC training, peer-to-peer coffee mornings.

Why is it important to have a niche?

• Instead of spreading yourself too thin, and say that ‘everybody’ is your potential client niche marketing will help you to focus on a specific group of people, and what their specific needs and wants are.  You will soon find out what is important to them, what magazines or blogs they read, how they talk and dress, who the main people in that network are.  You can develop products or services specifically for this group, based on your increasingly thorough knowledge and understanding of what they are interested in.
• It will be easier to identify potential clients and partners to work with as you can be more targeted with your marketing efforts.  Especially if you run a small business you need to be efficient and effective with how you spend your time and money.
• It will be easier for others to understand ‘what you do’ and ‘for whom’, which will make you an expert in a certain field.  As this group is more targeted and smaller you will be quicker well known within this group of people. Others will therefore refer more and better clients to you, as you have build up trust and got more visibility and credibility, and it is clear what you specialise in.
• There will be less competition, as you do specific things, for specific people, in a specific way.  The BIG advantage of that is that it can’t be easily replicated!
• It will really help with your marketing, positioning and branding as you will attract the ‘right people’ easier.  People with similar interests behave and are attracted to similar things.  You can also identify specific potential clients easier (especially if your clients are other businesses), so make the communication from the start more personal and unique, instead of mass marketing or advertising.
• As you can provide an increasingly better service or product, based on your client’s needs, the chance is that you will get more repeat business – people will come back for more, and often will start spending more with you as the relationship grows.

Niche marketing really comes down to this: Who would you rather be: A small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond?

But if I focus on a small group of people, won’t I miss out?

You might like to be everything to everybody, but that’s just not possible in terms of your time, money and energy.  Also, it might not make you very attractive!  Why?  Imagine that you have just started dating, and your friends ask ‘Who are you looking for?’, and you respond ‘Any wife will do’.  I bet you won’t get that much actual interest!

If you narrow your focus and market you will be able to serve your clients much better, and you can focus on those people who need your products or services the most and get the most benefits of what you have got to offer.

And I don’t like to be labeled either!

Some soletraders are worried that they will only be known ‘as the person who does x’.  Actually, think about it, that doesn’t need to be a negative!  And don’t worry, for any of these two worries about creating your niche there is one simple solution: Once you are known in a specific target market and niche, and have lots of clients, you can grow from there.

You can either offer additional services or products based on the actual needs of your client groups. For example to the above mentioned target group of unemployed women in Liverpool you can offer subsidised childcare or debt counseling services. In fact you can ask your clients or users to help you design new services or products with you.  (And by the way, you don’t have to do this all by yourself! You can work with partners who deliver these other services, and who will like to work with you as they know you have the clients already.)

Or, if you have a really good product or service you might provide that to other client groups too.  So, for example offer drop-in career services to NEETs or young men in Liverpool, or to unemployed young women in Manchester.

I have only just started, and I don’t really know what I want or what I am good at!

In the first 3 years or so of any business startup it is hard to identify what your particular strengths or talents are, where there is a profitable market for your product or what your clients really need (they often say something else than what is really on their mind!).  Also, you need some really practical experience, because sometimes you need to find out the hard way what works and doesn’t work for you, and your clients.

Niche marketing, developing your understanding of your market and improving your skills is an ongoing process!  Niche marketing is not a fixed approach, so stay flexible for opportunities and listen to client feedback, and then fine tune to discover more and more about what you are passionate about and the best at.

Niche marketing is really about ENERGY.  Especially as a small business owner you can’t be everything to all people, and there are only 24 hours in the day.  Niche marketing will help you to focus on two things:

Where and with whom do I want to spend my energy?

Where and from whom do I get my energy?

If you liked this, you might like to learn more about how to identify your own niche in this related article.

Where? The Hub (for social entrepreneurs) in Angel, London.

During this 8th Social Entrepreneurs Anonymous session we will discuss: Why is having a niche important for you and your social enterprise? Practical exercises to dentify your niche, and each of you will present to the rest of the group and will get feedback.  What is the difference between a niche and a target market?  Are you worried that focussing on a smaller group of potential clients or partners will minimise your opportunities?  Come along, and take part!

These sessions for startup social entrepreneurs are facilitated by Patricia van den Akker, an experienced business adviser and coach. Sessions are a mix of group coaching and discussion, games and tasks, feedback and fun. The more you put in, the more you get out!

Sessions are held monthly at the Hub in Islington (normally on the second Monday of the month but this one is on a wednesday!). FREE for Hub Members, £4 for non-members. Limited places available, and please register!

Registration through Event Brite:

That was the first question I was being asked when I started my coaching training with the Coaches Institute in early 2009.  A big question.  A scary question.  A powerful question! So just give yourself some time now, especially with the summer holidays upon us, to stand still and ask yourself this question:

What is your dream?

And to dig a little deeper: What is important to you about this?

Do you dream of more money, better relationships, a cottage on the seaside, or ways to change the world?  I can’t recall my answer from that first day, but it probably had something to do with what I wanted to do with my life, what I wanted for my two young daughters, what I wanted to teach others and learn about in the world, about using my skills in the best possible way.  The second part of the questions allows you to dig deeper at what your values are, what is really important to you.  For me that is very much about enabling others to learn and use their skills, always striving to become better at the things that matter, being a good enough mum and partner, having some fun and giggles in the process!

When I was asked this dream question, I had already done quite a bit of work on this with mission statements, visioning and modelling.  Especially the rather well known exercise of the 80^th birthday speech in Stephen Covey’s book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People had helped me. Covey very much focuses on the big picture and suggests that instead of living your life by default at the mercy of others you need to become more pro-active and look at your life and goals with ‘the end in mind’ and start planning from there.  What you do is you imagine your 80^th birthday party, and somebody gives a speech about your life.  Who is this person?  What will they say about you?

Instead of just reading this, take 20 min now, and actually do write this out for yourself.  No excuses!  This exercise has a compete different meaning if you read about it, or actually do it!  And when you are on it, why not try answering that first question: what is your dream? What is important to you about that?

I used to do this exercise often when I run business planning sessions, and participants always got a bit nervous, fiddle for a couple of minutes, they didn’t expect something so personal at a business planning session, but as a sole trader business and private is inseparable.  Sometimes somebody would cry.  But it is so useful to take time out of our busy lives, and stand still for a moment, what do we actually really really want, what are we here for?

As part of my CTI coaching course I also learnt about the Life Purpose exercise.  Your life purpose is the reason you are on this planet.  It is the thing we are meant to accomplish, the specific impact we want to have, our special talent that fulfils our and other’s lives.  One great way to work with the life purpose is to look for a metaphor or an image that explains better what you are about and what you want to do.  If you combine the metaphor with an impact statement you get something really powerful!  For example: I am the alarm clock waking you up to preconceived conceptions of vulnerable people.  I am the camera obscura that creates a bigger image of you, upside down, outside of the box.

Another great way to work with a metaphor or symbol is to create your own personal logo or collage.  Just for personal discovery, and to share with others to invite feedback.  Working with metaphors and images is a great way to uncover what you are about.  However, it might take months or even years to really fine tune it, it might sound too ambitious, too big headed, too American.  But don’t let that be an excuse, just work on it bit by bit.  It took me years to get it right without me cringing (the one of the camera obscura is mine!  The other one was for a social enterprise client).

A complete different angle to discovering what you want is an exercise that I use regularly with my coaching clients.  Imagine you finish with your current job or work at the end of this month for a year’s break.  You will have all the money, confidence, time and energy that you need to succeed.  Write a list of what you would do, of at least 15 things.  What would you do with your year off?

Recently I was reminded of the so called 500 year business plan.  The Japanese use this concept, to develop a business idea far beyond your life time, a business plan and vision for your children’s children’s children.  It is a great way for your business or personal life to have this mega direction.  And honestly, this exercise got me finally to creating my own mission statement that felt right: to support others to find their voice and best talents to solve the planet’s challenges in creative ways.

The person who reminded me was Dave Ellis, a great coach who run a workshop in London recently, and is the author of Falling Awake amongst many other books.  He introduced a great exercise: Imagine in 20 years … what do you want to have? …. what do you want to do? … who do you want to be?  …

I hope you enjoyed these couple of fun exercises to get you working on your own dreams!  I really would love to hear from you and what your dream is!  Please use the comments box below to share it with the world.  Sharing and writing about it is one of the best ways to make sure that you will actually do something about turning your dream into reality!

• Identify those clients that are most profitable for you, continue working with them, and ideally get higher paid work from them!
• Identify those projects that have underperformed, in what area (i.e.  you underestimated the time it would take, the client couldn’t decide) and what you could do about that in the future.

• Firstly, raise your prices or fee levels through a), h), l), i) (in this order) (For a blog post about raising your prices click here)
• Secondly, lower your variable costs (direct or delivery costs for each project), through k), c), m), j)
• Thirdly, fix underperformers through p), d), e)
• Fourthly, increase your volume through b)
• Finally, lower overhead costs through f), g), n) and o)