It’s Spring and the evidence is everywhere you look: daffodils and crocus poking their heads out of the ground, buds on trees bursting with young, tender leaves, while all around there is a sense of freshness and renewal. You feel energized and excited about the season and what's ahead.
   Alas, then you look more carefully at your lawn and garden beds. Old leaves and twigs are scattered all over. Your roses and other favorite plants may look scraggly, nothing like the beauties they were in late summer.
     You quickly realize that before you can move ahead thinking about this year’s garden, you need to do serious clean-up of the one before. If you don’t, the mess will just get worse until even you don’t want anything to do with it.
     The story is much the same for your photography studio’s niche. Hopefully, it isn’t as cluttered as last year’s garden. But even the slightest remnant of junk and leftovers will distract you and your customers from that shining core, your niche. Just like your garden, don’t expect anyone to fully appreciate the Specialness you bring to the party unless they can see it clearly. The antidote is a healthy dose of self-discipline.
     Now, the self-discipline I’m talking about is a little different from what you may be accustomed to. The kind I’m talking about extends beyond simply knowing what you want, setting goals to get there, and even beyond following a tight plan; instead it includes knowing what you’re willing to give up to get what you want. This component is crucial because successful niching requires a tight, laser beamlike focus. You can’t be all things to all people. Regardless how good you are at any of the things you want to do, be, or sell, if you expect the ultimate consumer to be able to find you among the masses, you are going to have to decide not just what you’re going to do but what you are not going to do.
While many business owners feel safer clinging to a grab-bag menu of services, there are always role models of those who have the courage to clean their garden. Carole Meyer, a Portland-based photographer understands the importance of self-discipline--of giving up to get what you want. A brilliant portrait photographer, several years ago she made a strategic business decision and concluded that to achieve her goals, she should change clientele from professionals to graduating high school students. I was personally chagrined to learn she was taking no more professional shots. Only graduating seniors and individuals please. 

 
Alas, no amount of begging or pleading would work. Her office graciously refers out to other photographers, unless of course, you’re a graduating high school senior.
     Closely related to this concept is understanding and knowing what kinds of tradeoffs you are making. We make tradeoffs every day. The difference now is that the ones you make are going to be conscious and intentional. Most of all, you will have thought through the consequences of those tradeoffs. Some of the most common tradeoffs my clients mention concern time with family and family security. The following exercise will help you clarify the idea of tradeoffs in relation to your personal and business niche:
1.   Identify your major goals.
2.   List the tradeoffs associated with each goal. For example, if you wish to become a world-class fine-art photographer, short-term income from weddings (which you won’t be doing) will have to go.
3.    Identify what you are honestly willing to give up to achieve your goals.
4.    What are you not willing to give up?
     As a final part of this exercise, look carefully at all your goals. Prioritize ones you consider absolutely essential. Then do the trade-offs exercise again. The more you do this exercise, the more you recognize that having it all rarely means all at the same time. It’s up to you to decide on the order of the pieces.
     With your tradeoffs list made, you now have a rational way of deciding what kinds of goals make sense within the larger context of your photography business and even your personal life. Tradeoffs are neither inherently good nor bad; they become destructive only when they come as surprises. You should also be able to see how easy it is to have so many things going on at once that you confuse your potential customers about what you stand for. When that happens your photography business is in real trouble.
     Moral of the story: It’s up to you to clean your niche garden. Do it now and look forward to enjoying the lush rewards from the kind of self-discipline only you can exercise.