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 Dr. Lynda Falkenstein, author of NICHECRAFT: Using Your Specialness to Focus Your Business, Corner Your Market, and Make Customers Seek You Out is the foremost authority on creating niches that drive today's most successful businesses. In addition to writing, Dr. Falkenstein consults, speaks and conducts seminars throughout the world helping photographers and other professionals develop their own powerful niche. She hosts the highly success "Niche and Get Rich" Telephone Seminar Series sponsored by Burrell Professional Labs.
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 With
the holidays rapidly approaching, your next several weeks are likely to
be hectic at best, perhaps even frazzled. If you are like many
professional photographers, a busy holiday season doesn't just mean a
happy cash register. It also means lots of stress. Stress that too often
detracts from the joy of doing what you love. The good news is, the
perfect antidote for holiday craziness and stress levels that are off
the charts is also a prescription for a lucrative and robust business
all year long. Of course, I'm talking about a health, focused niche!Chances are, the higher your stress level, the lower your niche quotient. On a personal level, the more stressed you are, the more likely you are to be unfocused, doing too much, trying to be all things to all people, and unable to say no. You are likely stretched so thin, you have no time for yourself. You are the ultimate "all-over-the-mapper." No wonder you are stressed. The story is the same in your photography business. Answer "yes" or "no" to the following questions to find out what kind of shape your own niche is in: |
If you answered
"no" to any of these questions or found yourself waffling,
chances are your niche is in trouble and at the very least, you are a
candidate for a headache. All "no's" and you should have your
blood-pressure medication close by because your stress will be at an
all-time high. An even better, more enduring and definitely healthier
prescription for you stress, however, would be to do some serious work
on your niche. Begin your niche regimen by cleaning your plate. Ask yourself who you want your customers to be and commit your resources and energy to them, alone. Don't try to be all things to all people. It wont' work. By doing this simple act, you will begin to see light at the end of the frazzle tunnel. Your stress level will begin to go down and your profits up. A second strategy will help your stress reduction program even more. Create a "Quit List." Make a list of all the things that you are currently doing that detract from achieving your goal(s) of that healthy, deep, and rich niche. Post your "Quit List" in a visible location. Read it every day. And when act on it. Just say no. So, as you enter the holiday season creating beautiful and enduring presents for everyone else, I encourage you to stop for a moment and also give yourself a present; a present that will make your own life and business infinitely richer. Give yourself the gift of focus -- an intentional, narrow and deep niche, with all your energies going in the same direction. NOW is the best time to start. (Excerpted from NICHECRAFT: Using Your Specialness to Focus Your Business, Corner Your Market, and Make Customers Seek You Out, pp31-32.) |
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