Reflection and Artwork by Sebila Kratovac
For creatives and healers, making money with our art and services has been one of the most difficult roadblocks to overcome. As I watch many YouTube videos and resources online, I am constantly advised to structure my business around what sells and to get inspired by trends. I am told to mimic (but not copy!) the way “successful” people have run their businesses. I am reminded that I have to “hustle” and market myself through many social media channels to get myself out here. Since I couldn’t envision my every-day life chasing clients and being in lots of social situations that drain my energy, I knew that there must be another way to thrive, to have a successful business that fits my purpose and personality.
Growing up, I always thought that as long as I could crack the social code and fit in, my life would be easy and prosperous. This method never worked for me because I could never “conform” to any standard, even if I tried to do it in desperation to achieve financial independence. I wanted to convince myself that living a life of constant competition, overworking, and burnout was how live is - that I should “get over” my anxiety and exhaustion, and abandon my need for a lot of self-care and relaxation. This “working like a bull” to survive attitude made me very sick physically as I abandoned myself, going against who I am and what makes me thrive. Looking for advice on how to have a sustainable business that would also be true to who I am, I really resonated with Tad Hargrave who runs Marketing for Hippies where he helps creative and holistic business owners with marketing. In a few of his wonderful Youtube vlogs (Your Deepest Wound and Your Truest Niche, On Niching: Your Gifts. Your Nature. Your Wounds., and The Three Elements of Your Niche), he teaches people how to recognize and use their uniqueness - their niche - to create a specialized business.
Niching is an interesting, and well-talked about topic in the business world. Hargrave has a unique spin on how business owners can find their specific, true niche. One of his most illuminating tips is to find our biggest wound, a wound that we are on our way to healing or that we have already healed. This is the place where we are most likely to have a lot of knowledge and passion. We are also working from our own life experience instead of helping people from what we learned in school or from what has worked for others. For example, our wound could be that we have had many skin issues in our life but we have managed to heal our skin inside out by cultivating a healthier lifestyle. Reflecting on our healing experience, we can empathize with others who are going through the same issues and could help them with very practical ways to heal. Knowing our wound, according to Hargrave, gives us the direction for our business: What problem will the business try to solve for people?
Hargrave’s second suggestion for narrowing down our niche is to ask ourselves what our gifts are. What have we always been able to do easily and with joy? What do people complement us for? In the case of helping others heal their skin, we could focus on our love for plants and use herbalism to teach people how to detox and heal their body. Many different gifts can be combined together – knowledge of plants and talent in art can translate into personalized, illustrated herbal protocols for each client. Our talents can help us define the tools we have at our disposal to form the shape of our business. They can also help us narrow down the kind of people that would be drawn to our offerings. The third aspect or our business to consider is how we would like to present our business to others. This will depend on our vibe/nature/personality. Our overall vibe is a very important part of our business because it plays a huge role in the kind of people we will attract. Hargrave, for instance, is a very chill, funny, and hippyish guy so naming his business Marketing for Hippies was an effective way to attract people who like his vibe. Knowing ourselves and having the courage to be authentic in the world is a huge asset in business because we can capitalize on our sensibility and captivate new clients naturally by letting our personality shine.
In practical terms, how can a niche-specific business be profitable? After all, focusing on a much smaller group of people eliminates a big number of potential customers. Many business insiders consider niching a risky business model. I think that this belief of having to standardize how we are and what business we provide is a very outdated scheme benefiting only certain kind of people and it is not at all realistic for everyone. From Hargrave’s own life experience, he was only able to be successful and happy with his business after starting to do his business from a place that feels good. Before this, he was a run-of-the-mill sales/marketing guy who did business the way he was taught by the old industry leaders. His approach was cutthroat, pushy, ethically questionable. Hargrave felt terrible interacting with people this way and his approach also alienated his friends who knew that the personality he was taking on wasn’t truly him. Once he stopped doing what didn’t feel right for him, he was able to reach his ideal customers.
What if we feel that people don’t want what we have to offer or aren’t willing to pay the amount we charge? Does this mean that we have no chance in living an abundant life and running a business we love at the same time? Attracting our niche clients may be the most difficult part of establishing a sustainable business. This is where we could be tempted to standardize our business or even give up completely. Through my life experience, I have found that working just to make money is only a temporary financial fix with many consequences (unless our sole purpose and motivation for having a business is to make money). Firstly, the effort it takes to be someone we aren’t, can lead to quick burnout and even illness. Secondly, if we don’t enjoy what we are doing, we will not be motivated to work through glitches and hardships that are a part of business. It is very much worth fine-tuning a business to fit us first and then to attract specific customers. We may have to become very honest with ourselves about who we are and what we want. We can also seek help from others, be it a business coach or friends who can give us suggestions based on their interaction with us. The more we become confident being who we are and connecting to the outside world through our authenticity, the easier it will be to find our clients. There are no guarantees in life, no matter which road we take, but we are free to experiment and decide if it is worth it for us committing to our uniqueness and creating a niche business from the heart.