A year ago when the phone rang and the caller asked if we painted a certain thing the answer was always, “of course.”
Over the years we have painted everything from a church to the inside of an elevator shaft to wicker lawn furniture and everything in between.
This approach all though sometimes profitable we never realized the return I knew we were worth.
Look at it this way One week I had guys 60ft in the air tethered to a lift scraping an old church and the next week we were delicately sanding kitchen cabinets.
The tools were diverse, the mindset of the project was on different planets, the precision and scope of each project were as different as an apple and a watermelon.
How can we be efficient with any of the work we performed if we did everything (including non-prequalified customers)?
Then we found our niche.
Definition of a niche:
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denoting or relating to products, services, or interests that appeal to a specialized section of the population.
The key here is “the appeal to the specialized section of the population”
Niching down our operation has brought two major factors into play.
- workers have become craftsman as their knowledge and expertise can be honed over time to a speciality craft or ability many others do not have.
- Less cost on the tools needed for the specific projects as we are not trying to appeal to the masses and having every tool in the arsenal and in some cases multiple of each.
The return on investment:
All though the change in “specializing” in one or two niches can take time. The return of being the specialist or “go to” person in that field can pay off ten fold.
How to become the specialist in your field.
- Highlight your “Niche” on social media, quality pictures of the specific speciality assist the visual
- research the niche you desire via reading, talk the talk.
- Blog about the specific field regularly
- submit articles to professional related magazines. magazines like well-written articles submitted to them as they are regularly looking for content.
Walking the Walk:
So you want to become a specialist in a desired aspect of your profession… now what?
You now have to make it known not only by telling everyone but you have to deliver.
Honing your niche:
- Volunteer to perform whatever task you chose to be your niche for free or on a volunteer basis. (If it is kitchen cabinet painting and you are looking for an opportunity to practice, call your local soup kitchen and offer to repaint their cabinets at no charge)
- Friends and family are often good candidates to work for. please remember they are not expecting to pay full price and sometimes expect it to be free.
- Performing you specialty where you can be known for that one thing will take some time, do not expect to be an overnight success.
When someone hires a specialist in a particular field they are expecting to pay for talent and experience. At this time the return on investment is realized.
Are you ready Focus Smaller To Double Your Bottom-Line ?