When I started writing online in July 2022, the word ānicheā took over my social media, my dictionary, and my brain power.
All the gurus swore by it and sold courses and cohorts about finding your niche. Not having a niche is a sin in the world of content creation. You are clueless, confusing, and amateur.
āYou donāt have a niche?! How dare you?ā
I like to play by the rules, and after 500 articles on Medium, a lot of soul-digging, and flirting with different niches, I found my divine answer:
You donāt need a niche. What you need is a vision.
Let me explain.
A niche is, by definition, targeted, contained, and narrow. As a linguist, I translate that as limiting and suffocating. A box.
Isnāt a niche the opposite of human nature?
Humans are multidimensional beings, constantly evolving and expanding. Our creativity is not to be confined in boxes called niches but to be given free rein.
Thatās how the best ideas and products are created.
Christopher Columbus didnāt have a niche.
He had a vision to explore the world (well, maybe he wanted some gold, too); thatās how he ādiscoveredā the New World in 1492.
Steve Jobs didnāt have a niche.
He had a vision to create incredible products that would transform peopleās lives.
Malala doesnāt have a niche.
She has a vision to empower girls and women and bridge the gender gap.
When you have a clear vision of what you stand for and what impact you want to make, everything else makes sense and flows: your actions, your products, your steps and your writing.
While a niche is static and focused on the present, a vision is dynamic and forward-looking. It projects a reality that is yet to be created.
Itās about potential and possibilities.
A niche is fitness and wellness.
A vision is helping people be, look, and feel their best, outside and inside.
A niche is coaching writers.
A vision is to empower writers to turn their passion for writing into a lifestyle.
A niche is cultural agility.
A vision is turning cultures into human bridges to drive inclusion.
Although they sound superficially similar, they are quite different. A vision is not a thing; itās a motion, an aspiration, a proposition for a what-if that is better than the status quo.
How to create your vision?
To build your vision, you must ask yourself the right questions:
- What is your purpose?
- How do you help people?
- What impact do you want to make?
- What is the legacy you want to leave behind?
A vision is not about you; itās about the impact you make on others and the world around you.
Once you find the answer to these questions, you have something much bigger than a nicheā¦
A niche wins clients; a vision wins hearts.
Your pick.
Planting Your Lemon Tree š³š
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Happy Lunar New Year from Hong Kong šš°š²š§§
absolutely on point! this is exactly what I want to emphasize on. You don't need a niche. You only need YOU.
YOU are the niche!
Nice reflection! Iām much more interested in winning hearts than clients (or subscribers). Iām also deeply invested in not LOSING my own heart in a race to āwinā some weird game weāre playing.