You can’t be all things to all people. In business, it’s a recipe for failure.

When you choose and clearly define a niche for your business (a small, well-defined audience to market to) marketing and everything else gets easier.  For a consultant or coach to nonprofits, a niche is critical.  There are over 1.5 million nonprofits in the US alone.  It’s not likely that you can effectively serve them all.  So figure out who you can serve well and what issue or topic you can become the known expert. For example, you might choose to work only with animal shelters.  Or you might choose to serve small nonprofits undertaking capital campaigns.  Usually the best niche is something you have some experience with personally.

Regardless of the niche you choose, you’ll find that marketing becomes much simpler, because the people are easier to reach in large numbers.  For example, if you choose animal shelters as your niche, there are associations of animal shelters in the US, complete with conferences, websites, and newsletters (I know because I once spoke at such a conference).

Another way to think about niche is to think about the topics that set your heart on fire.  What flames your passion?  Do you love talking about direct mail?  Or maybe grantwriting?  Maybe you get crazy passionate about anything that is a ministry or supports kids.  Follow your heart and your energy to discover potential niches for your business.

Regardless of the technique you use to find it, uncovering your niche is vital to your ability to create a lifestyle business.