Finding a Niche That’s Ideal and Profitable

Within the scope of your talents, passions and knowledge there is an ideal niche where you can become the go-to expert, and where finding ideal clients will be easier. Often finding the niche where you can have the biggest impact and making the most money can make the difference between struggle and success. If you’re having difficulty becoming clear about the right niche, here is a simple process you can follow to help you choose.

You need to have a niche strategy. There are 5 simple criteria you must meet to identify your Perfect Profit niche. That’s the niche where you can be as profitable as possible and serve the most people. Imagine how much easier it will be to make tons of money if you are actually giving people something they really want to buy.

Many business owners pour their heart and soul into creating a product, only to find they can’t easily find buyers. Within the scope of what you are capable of doing with your passion, knowledge, and talents there is a sweet spot where you can accelerate your success.

I call these 5 criteria the 5 P’s.

1. Passion
What are you passionate about? What message, talent or knowledge do you want to share with the world? You can make money without passion, but it becomes a dry and tedious journey that can easily lead to burn-out. It’s hard to have the drive and determination you need long term without it.

2. Problem
People today are overcome with information and marketing messages. What is so important to them that they will jump at the opportunity to read your message?

What are the biggest problems, challenges or wants your clients have for which you can provide a solution or desired result? Only by doing some research can you know if people want what you have to offer. Keyword research is a wonderful way to find out what people are actually searching for. What is selling in your niche? What books are popular? You must know what people want before you decide what products or services you need to offer.

3. Pay
Are those same people willing and ABLE to pay you a competitive price? If not, it’s the wrong market. Just because people need something doesn’t mean they’re willing to open their wallet and buy it. You must know this if you want to build a profitable business.

4. Profit
Can you make a decent profit after you pay all of your expenses? If your products aren’t profitable, your business will struggle to stay open. Also, what quantity of each product could you expect to sell? Get out your calculator and run some numbers. The most profitable products are downloadable information products and there is rarely a business that couldn’t create passive income this way.

5. Positioning
Can you find a sweet spot in this niche where you can be positioned as the go-to expert? If the niche is overcrowded with very similar experts, how will you stand out? Or could you offer an approach that’s slightly different to help you stand out in a crowded marketplace?

By answering the questions above and testing the niche you’ve chosen against these 5 criteria, you’ll be on your way to finding not just any niche, but a profit niche.

5 Comments
  • Cindy Schulson
    Posted at 15:50h, 01 April Reply

    Hi Janis – this is a great list. Helping solo entrepreneurs find their ideal niche is my passion and I’ve written a free report called “Ten Steps to Finding and Attracting Your Ideal Niche”.

    The 4th step is evaluating your niche. In addition to the criteria you listed above, here are three other things to consider:

    • Competition — There are already existing businesses serving this niche (no competition is a bad sign), but not so much competition that it is saturated. You can create a compelling reason for them to hire you vs. someone else.
    • Accessibility — The group is accessible so that you can easily reach its members through clearly defined communication channels
    • Connection — You have inside knowledge about this group, which usually means that you are (or were) a member of this group.

    Thanks and warm wishes,
    Cindy

    • Janis Pettit
      Posted at 09:14h, 02 April Reply

      Great advice to add to my post. Thanks Cindy.

  • Kelli King-Jackson
    Posted at 17:42h, 01 April Reply

    These 5 P’s are right on! So many times we focus on what we love to do and what we’re good at. This article is a reminder that there is a lot more to business and organizational development. Thanks for sharing. I will be sure to pass the article along.

  • Donna Raagas
    Posted at 20:59h, 01 April Reply

    After reading this post, I read “7 Deadly Small Business Mistakes…”, and then “Get More Clients by Developing a Referral System”, then “7 Powerful Free Business Marketing Ideas”–I can’t get enough of your straightforward, sensible advice. I see my mistakes, or shortsightedness, or lack of focus–whatever your articles target– without feeling stupid, or like a failure. Somehow you manage to clearly illuminate my weak areas as an entrepreneur, and I want to improve–not make excuses or quit! Thank you for your practical steps to success in specific areas of business–they’re easy for me to select, bite off, and chew on while I devise realistic changes in my business practices.

  • Jeanne Grunert
    Posted at 15:02h, 22 June Reply

    Excellent advice, Janis. So many entrepreneurs fail to identify a niche. It’s what one of my marketing professors in graduate school used to call the water syndrome – he would test us and give us a case study, saying “You have to market a bottled water product. Who is your customer?” Most people scratch their heads and say “everyone” but the truth is that even with a product like water, not everyone will be your customer. It is critical to identify both a niche AND a profitable niche.

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