How to charge more by doing less

My sister, Rachael is a neuroscience-nutritionist and she's recently started a new business and obviously a new brand to go along with it.

As service providers for branding, Boring Studios could help her with growing her brand—but I suggested she go elsewhere. Why?

Boring Studios' niche was* hospitality, food and beverage and brick-and-mortar SMEs. So neuroscience and nutrition does not fall under this, unless she made an IRL clinic (and tbh we would be all over that).

So obviously a branding and marketing partner who specialises in nutrition, neuroscience or health-based businesses would give Rachael a better result. They have more knowledge and understand the audience and the industry.

The only downside for Rachael? Cost.

The specialist is charging way more than any un-niched branding service because you're paying for their expertise. They can charge more, and they should charge more. And you could too.

Today's topic: How to niche down (and why it makes you more money, not less)

*We don't service clients currently so I use was instead of is. Our niche would probably remain the same if we started to take on clients again.

Estimated read time: ~3.5 minutes (Skim time: 75 seconds)

What is a niche and what kind of problem is this?

A niche is a specific focus for your business. It could be an industry, it could be a problem you solve or the types of clients you service.

So if you're a graphic designer, you could be a graphic designer for hospitality brands or a graphic designer who helps product businesses get shelf-ready packaging. (More examples later).

Not having a niche is just a classic clarity problem; but for both for you and your potential clients. So when you're not niched, clients can't quickly understand if you're right for them, and you can't speak directly to their specific pain points.

But when you've niched down, you have a clear message, offer and answer to the client's exact needs. And when clients looking for your exact services find you, every inquiry about your services are legit; no ghosting and no bs.

You just have to know what to focus on... and then actually commit to it.

"I work with everyone"

This is a lot like saying every brand appeals to everyone. And frankly, I think you know that, that is not true. Very few brands appeal to the entire household. Maybe Apple... Coca Cola... maybe Nike. But even they started with a very specific person in mind.

Thinking that everyone is interested in your services and that your brand is targeting everyone... is simply... dumb. Maybe even a bit arrogant. And arrogance + stupidity makes for a real bad business owner and brand.

Most creatives think niching means fewer clients, fewer opportunities, smaller pool. But it's really the opposite.

With a specific style/brand/offering/clientele, you become the obvious choice instead of one of many options. When everyone's offering the same blanket of services; marketing, branding, graphic design etc, your competition is much larger. And that may mean you may have to shrink your pricing to land the deal because you're a bit more desperate and the client is speaking to a few other people offering the same thing as you.

But when you're a specialist, there's no questions because there's less competition; you are the obvious choice.

A potential client who lands on your site or finds your social media needs to feel like you were made for them. And that will only happen when you're specific enough to their pain points or needs. So how do we do that?

There's a million ways to decide on your niche, but read on for one way to tackle this in just four steps.

This week you will

Step one: Go through your past work

Review your past client work, passion projects or simply write down what industries and clients interest you. Now now... don't put down "the ones that pay big money". Although if money is your motivator I'd be putting down government work or large enterprises BUT do note that these jobs very rarely go to the little guys. They often go to legacy agencies.

For your past work, ask yourself; did you enjoy it? Was the outcome something you were proud to put in your portfolio? Was the client easy to deal with? Would you take that project again?

If yes, yes, yes, yes, then put it on the list of a possible niche.

Step two: Refine

Once you've done the audit/review, look across all of it. Is there an industry that keeps coming up such as hospitality, wellness, tech, fashion. Or a type of client? Solo operators, product-based businesses, service providers. Maybe a type of project such as brand identity, packaging, websites or socials. You might find more than one pattern, and that's fine. Write all of them down because you can do a mix of them.

Examples: Branding for hospitality SMEs
Packaging design for food and beverage startups
Social media for wellness founders
Brand identity for female-led businesses
Web design for service-based small businesses
Visual identity for independent retailers

The options are literally endless.

Bonus step: Trust your gut. If there is something that ignites your passion or something that is pulling you, that should be your choice.

Step three: Create your offer

Take the pattern and turn it into one clear sentence.

I help [type of client] do/get [specific outcome or service].
I help food and beverage startups get packaging that stands out on the shelf.
I help service-based small businesses get a website that works as hard as they do.
I help independent retailers get a visual identity that makes people stop and walk in.

Keep it short. It should be specific enough that someone reading it immediately knows if it's for them or not. If it could apply to anyone, then that's not it.

Step four: Put it out there

Update your public-facing with your niche sentence; website headline, your Instagram bio, your LinkedIn, your email signature. If you change your mind or it doesn't work out, you can just change it again. Nothing on the internet or in your life is finite. It can all be changed.

Niching down opens more doors than it closes. Because, you're not hiring a builder to build your house who's also a plumber and a cabinet maker and a mechanic, are you?

No. You're hiring the expert, the specialist, the master.
Be the niche your clients are looking for.
They will find you easier.

Chat next week,
Penelope
Co-Founder of Boring Studios, hospitality-expert