Niching Venn Diagram

5+ years ago, I drew up this Venn Diagram to help people reflect on their niche…

In this blog post I’ll explain what it means, especially the importance of the two dots.

The circle on the right represents your Passions, which can be…

• Topics you love to talk about
• Problems you find fulfilling to work on
• A type of person you love to help (I call this your “ideal client audience” or “ICA”)
• … or a combination of the above.

The circle on the left represents high-demand markets, and these tend to be…

• Popular
• Instant Gratification
• Easy to Consume / Convenient

When building an online, service-based business, high-demand markets (the left circle) tend to be related to:

• Money: How to make (more) money
• Health: How to solve a painful or scary issue, or to look better
• Relationships: How to find (and keep) the love of your life
• Expensive Hobbies

Passions (the right circle) typically…

• Take more time or work before worthwhile results can be seen
• Tend to be esoteric rather than popular
• Tend to be “deeper” or more spiritual

What about the green and gold dots in the diagram?

The gold dot stands for business opportunities and projects that are in higher demand, yet are still within your circle of passion. It’s not your biggest passion, but you would enjoy doing those activities anyway.

The green dot stands for opportunities that are closer to your Passions but has less market demand.

If you have financial reserves and confidence — or if you love your current job and it brings a stable income for you — then you can start at the green dot, and with each new project, keep moving right — toward your truest Passions.

If you need to make money sooner, then start at the gold dot to gain some money and confidence first. With each success, you can gradually move in the direction of the green dot. You will move the market with you — or at least, your growing ideal audience will go with you.

Even if you pursue the Gold Dot first, delivering what’s in demand, you can still flavoryour work with your passion. For example, even though I teach online marketing, I am always bringing my passion for spiritual/personal development into my teaching. As a result, my brand carries more authenticity.

I hope this concept is helpful! You can see the slideshow here.