I think my story about the ant who started a hat-dancing business might have thrown some of you off. Though I love a little shake-up now and again, that wasn’t my intention.

The point wasn’t that you should go into some obscure industry that no one’s ever heard of. Niches have their place, sure. But you have a built-in niche already. No one in the entire world is like you. No team is exactly like your team. You already have that market completely cornered.

On the outside, it may not look like I have a niche. I create websites and online strategy for all sorts of different groups and individuals — I serve everyone from software engineers to interior designers. But my style doesn’t appeal to everyone. Bland, corporate-entangled, traditional organizations undoubtedly need me, but they’re not in a place to know that (yet).

I work with people who have an inkling that the rules have changed. So no, I don’t work with everyone. My philosophy and story decide my niche for me.

If you figure out your story, you’ll figure out your niche

There are a lot of people shouting from the rooftops about the good news of being authentic. In other words, being completely, 100% true to your core values and letting that determine your brand, your methodology, and what projects you take on. But there are only a handful who actually do it. Often, marketers use the “authentic” angle just like they use the “expert” angle or the “fear” angle. It’s the flavor of the moment, so they’re willing to jump right in and play the game.

So instead of telling you to “be authentic”, let’s stick to figuring out what your values are. What kind of an organization do you want to lead? That’s your story. That’s your niche.

Questions to ask yourself when figuring out your story

• What’s the setting? Are you a coastal native who wants to bring that same level of serenity and relaxation to your work? Do you have big-city culture and style? If you don’t know, perhaps the setting is irrelevant to your story.
• Who are the characters? Is it just you? Do you collaborate with a team? What are the individual personalities that make up your workplace? What are your backgrounds and rockstar abilities?
• What’s the conflict? What problems do you face on a daily basis? What gets your emotions fired up?
• What’s the resolution? How do your characters save the day?
• What metaphors do you use to bring it all together for your audience? Metaphors are powerful tools for explaining something quickly. If my metaphor is a 50s milkman, that conveys kindness, twinkling eyes, stability, whimsy. Someone your wife might run off with (well, not *your* wife, but some other wife who was married to someone soul-sucking).

So your niche is not about being an interior designer for people who own pit bulls. You don’t have to start a hat-dancing company. Figure out your story, make it award-winning (aka: not full of cheap plot devices and horrible quality), and take it to the top from there.