laneimageconsultingYou have probably heard that you need to niche down if you want to make a go of your business and become an expert as an image consultant.
What to do though, if you love lots of things? You love colour, style, shopping, wardrobe, men, woman, corporations, teenagers, makeup parties…. The list goes on.
If you are just starting out, then its probably a good idea to try out a few things till you know what you love doing and what works for you. You need to do first and then the path will become clearer. As Marie Forleo says “Clarity comes from engagement, not thought”.
If on the other hand, you’ve been in business for a while and you are still providing the whole canoli to everyone and their mother, then its time to think about narrowing the services and products you provide so that you are operating from your zone of genius and not stretching yourself too thin.
Here are a few questions to help you start thinking about getting more specific about who you work with and what you provide:
- What topics bring you to life and light you up? What are you happy to spend hours researching? What questions would cause you to stay up all night to find an answer. What doesn’t seem like work? Several of the stylists I know, love to work exclusively with men but styling men leaves me cold. I have no interest. This was a clear clue that styling men was not a good fit for me. What leaves you cold? What could you stop doing today and not miss at all?
- Who are the people you would like to serve? You will be spending time every day interacting, training and answering questions with these people. Are they your people? Will spending time with them be comfortable and fun? I spend the majority of my time every day in the company of image consultants and personal stylists. I provide training, answer their questions and we learn together. I look forward to spending time with and interacting with my clients every day. Do you enjoy spending time with your clients?
- Are you making money with this service that you love or is their potential to make money in this area? Once you have decided what you actually want to do every day and who you want to do it with, you need to figure out how to make money from it. This is often where image consultants get stuck as they are rarely trained in business. These skills need to be learned in the same way as you learned how to do a colour or style analysis. Business skills do not come naturally to most people.
So if this article has got you wondering and you think you are at the stage where you need to start to consider to niche down, then my ideal client challenge is a great next step for you.
The challenge will help you niche down so that:
➡ Your marketing efforts become way easier and more focused and you attract people who will be delighted to pay your fees.
➡ You automatically become an expert image consultant in your area as you know exactly what your client wants and needs.
➡ You speak directly to your ideal client in their language which will allow them to get to know, like, trust and buy from you quickly.