WHY I DON’T STICK TO JUST ONE NICHE (AND WHAT I DO INSTEAD)

In the world of entrepreneurs, there is so much talk about picking one specific niche and sticking to it.

All the “business gurus” seem to hand out the same advice over and over. You hear things like “the riches are in the niches” and “focus on only one thing at a time”.

While I agree with it to some extent, there are some aspects of this advice that I simply cannot follow.

The fact is there are two types of people. Those who prefer to stick to one vocation throughout their lives and those who like to mix it up and try all sorts of things.

Because of my personality type, I’m definitely the latter.

I will admit, I always thought it would be really cool to be one of those people who dedicate their entire life to perfecting one craft, but that’s just not me. And I’m finally learning to be at peace with it.

Yes, I admire those who are so devoted to one thing, and if that’s you, all the power to you!

However, I’m a person who gets bored easily and likes to experiment with many different things. My spirit craves adventure and new things all the time. Instead of beating myself up about it, I decided to accept that once and for all.

It’s finally become clear to me that there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s simply a different approach to life, which suits me better. If you can relate, keep reading!

Before I go on though, I want to make sure I explain that I do think creating your Ideal Client Avatar is a great idea. I’m not suggesting that you don’t pick a niche at all for your business because it does help you narrow down what kind of clients you wish to serve. And in doing so, you’ll be better equipped to attract those ideal clients to work with.

I’m just saying that if the idea of doing one thing for the rest of your life makes you crazy, you don’t have to do it.

So for example, I’ve narrowed down exactly who I want to work with when it comes to my web design business. Since I got clear on my ideal client avatar, I’ve been able to target my content to that market and reach a more targeted audience to my blog. This has also helped me get amazing client testimonials every time!

However, the creative side of me needs more. I require multiple ways of expressing myself and stimulate my creativity.

So I also give myself the time to work on my other passions. As you’ll notice on my website, one of my other strong passions is photography.

I love photography so much that I couldn’t imagine not allowing myself to enjoy it and only focus on designing websites. I’ve been told that I should only focus on one thing and pretty much forget the rest, but every time I tried that, I started to feel down.

In my opinion, when you do the same thing day in and day out, you stifle your creativity. If you don’t challenge yourself to do something new on a regular basis, you lose your ability to think outside the box because you’re never stretching yourself.

Every time I go on a photo walk, I invite my mind to expand creatively. Therefore, I highly encourage you to allow yourself to do more than just focus on one thing at a time.

If you’re one of those multi-passionate entrepreneurs (like me), stop battling it and embrace who you are.

It is more than possible to make it work. I’ve seen so many people pull it off successfully. I’ve seen entrepreneurs provide multiple services and do it really well. I especially love this article on Huffington Post that showcases How Multi-Passionate Female Entrepreneurs Are Changing The World.

I myself am pulling it off. Not only do I design awesome websites for my clients but I also offer photography services. And you know what? I haven’t picked a niche in photography at all. Maybe someday, but for now I enjoy experimenting with different types of photography.

So far, I’ve done photoshoots for things like branding, CD cover photo for a band, landscape photography, a surprise proposal shoot and more! And I’ve enjoyed it all so far. If I only stuck to working on websites I would’ve missed out on all those other great experiences.

So my point is, it’s great to narrow down who you desire to work with, but it is not necessary to only work on one thing at a time. If you have more than one passion, find a way to incorporate them into your life and enjoy the ride.