Finding your niche
March 7, 2007 by Stirlyn
Finding your niche can help you achieve far more in life and can provide you with the added satisfaction of knowing that you are sought after for your expertise, knowledge, practical tips and advice. Those who are looking to emulate your success will flock to you, peppering you with questions, demanding answers, seeking your input as a problem solver and if you are fortunate, they will recommend you as an expert to others, thus increasing the demands on your time, but also elevating you above the realms of mere mortals.
You know that within your niche you are blissfully happy. You are naturally inclined or drawn to it, or you have worked hard to appreciate the nuances that are special about your area of expertise. Whether you are highly paid or receive no compensation, your niche provides you with so much more than remuneration.
How can I find that thing that I love doing
You can look in all areas of your life. Let’s start at home and start first thing in the morning.
- What’s the first thing you think about when you wake up in the morning
- What do you do regularly every day
- Do you eat the same food every week, visit the same cafe or restaurant
- Do you exercise, are you sporty
- Where do you travel to on a regular basis
- Is there a type of person or group that you associate with on a regular basis
- What are you reading right now? Have you read other books by the same author or on the same subject or within the same genre?
- Are you a day time TV buff? Could you tell me the latest trends in antiques, or the average spend by Car booters?
- Do you work, are you unemployed, are you a full time or part time student.
- Are you a dab hand at making £50 last 2 weeks?
- What is the music that you listen to in your car
- Where’s the best place to shop for magazines in your area
- Is your local area good for people who ride bikes
- What’s the best or worst time to get to the station in the morning
- How often do you see advertising hordings on your regular journeys
- When is the best time to book you annual holiday, how do you know this?
- Where is the best place to get lunch on a Thursday or where do you enjoy sitting whilst eating your lunch and why?
These questions may seem very simple but perhaps when you think about them a little, they may reveal certain traits that are hidden in what’s normally referred to as ‘common sense’ or ‘common knowledge’. The thing is, if you delve deeper into common traits or common knowledge, they can reveal a lot more to us then we think.
What common knowledge reveals
I’ve been a computing professional for many years. As such there are lots of techniques and tips, strategies and practices within computing that I take for granted. However not everyone is an IT professional, and even other IT professionals don’t know everything about what the industry has going on at any one time.
Add to that the numerous amounts of people who are using computing technology more and more in their daily lives. People don’t want to know how a particular piece of technology works, they want to know how they can use it to benefit them.
People ask me questions like ‘How do I put my files on the Internet?’ and ‘What is FTP?’ or ‘How do I change the image in this template so that I can have my logo on it?’ Sometimes I answer them quickly, other times I show them how it’s done, but the point I am trying to make is that unless I am asked the question, a) I don’t even realise that this knowledge is there. b) I don’t realise the number or complexity of steps it may take for someone else to achieve what I do, c) I don’t realise that the knowledge is in demand by someone.
So ask yourself some questions about what you do in your everyday life. You never know you may find that you have a wealth of knowledge or practical know how that will help someone else. It can help you to discover your niche. Once you have discovered or decided what you niche is, why not start up your own blog and write about it, or search around for someone who may already be writing on the subject and contribute to their writing about it.
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