In a crowded market, your unique advantage isn't a single niche, but the intersection of several. Combining passions like "jigsaw puzzles" and "microbrews" creates a new, defensible category where you are the expert. Your true niche is the unique combination that makes up you.
Once you've established credibility in one area, you can leverage that personal brand to expand into other topics. Don't worry that diversifying your content will dilute your original brand; your audience follows your communication abilities, not just your initial expertise.
Competing to be 'the best' is a crowded, zero-sum game. A superior strategy is to find a niche where you can be the 'only' one doing what you do. Pursue the ideas that only you appreciate, because that is where you will face no competition and can create your most authentic and valuable work.
Contrary to the 'niche down' mantra, discussing diverse personal interests (like sports or hobbies) creates more attachment points for your audience. This broad appeal can indirectly strengthen your core business by building a multi-faceted personal brand that people connect with on different levels.
Stop worrying that producing both high-level 'sizzle' content and deep, technical content will make you seem inconsistent. Your audience is not a monolith. This 'and' approach appeals to different segments and creates more connection points, rather than alienating anyone.
Instead of competing to be the best in a crowded field, find a unique niche or combination of skills where you have no substitutes. This is the key to long-term success, as demonstrated by the PayPal Mafia members who each carved out their own distinct paths.
The most potent business ideas are discovered, not forced. They arise naturally from being an active participant in a niche community and experiencing its problems firsthand. Instead of searching for 'an idea,' immerse yourself in a passion; the right opportunity will present itself.
Instead of guessing your content niche, find the overlap between topics your inner circle seeks your advice on and the content your ideal clients already consume. This data-driven approach combines perceived personal expertise with proven market demand, ensuring relevance and authority.
Conventional advice to 'niche down' forces entrepreneurs to hide parts of themselves. True brand differentiation and connection come from embracing the intersections of your varied interests (e.g., marketing + motherhood). Your range doesn't dilute your brand; it defines your unique positioning and attracts a loyal audience.
While having a clear, formulaic professional identity (e.g., 'the B2B SaaS investor') helps with fundraising, being interesting and unlabelable attracts more serendipitous and potentially groundbreaking opportunities. People with diverse passions create a magnet for other interesting people and ideas.
To stand out, focus on a very specific audience and problem. The speaker started by helping moms with Snapchat safety, then expanded to Snapchat marketing, and finally to general Instagram coaching. This phased approach builds authority before you widen your scope.