Why working with everyone is hurting your business (and yourself)

One of the biggest reasons why many people don’t niche down in their businesses is because they fear they’ll lose out on opportunities.

This could not be further from the truth! 

Niching down is the first step in setting yourself up as an expert. No one can be the best at everything. You may be skilled in different areas but if you’re focusing on too many things there’s just no way you’ll become the go-to person for a specific task and you’ll never stand out from the crowd.

Not having a clear target audience and dream client is a sure way to stunt business growth. Today I wanted to share 5 ways you’re hurting your business (and yourself) by working with everyone, instead of niching down and targeting a very specific audience.

#1: You won’t feel fulfilled and happy

Working with “everyone” means you’ll be working on a very broad range of projects. As exciting as this may sound when you are in the beginning stages of working with clients in your business, it’s not the best long term strategy if you want to do fulfilling work that truly excites you.

Think about it – what sort of projects in your niche wouldn’t appeal to you? What type of work wouldn’t make you happy? 

If you don’t specify exactly what sort of projects you want to work on, the chances are very high that you’ll pull in all sorts of clients who may not be aligned with what your business is all about.

Of course, taking on those sorts of projects would allow you to get paid and gain experience. BUT, if you fill your portfolio with work you don’t enjoy, you’ll only end up attracting more of these projects!

Take away: being vague about who you’re targeting or, even worse, trying to appeal to everyone, means that you’ll also end up working on projects that you don’t really enjoy. And, if you continue filling up your portfolio with these projects, you’ll attract more of the same because you’re giving people the idea that this is the sort of work you specialize in. This dynamic will have you feeling unhappy and unfulfilled because you’re not doing work you’re passionate about. Sure it may pay the bills, but it’s not the best long term solution if you want to grow your business and become an expert in your niche.

#2: You’re not allowing yourself to be seen as an expert in your niche

As I mentioned above – when you don’t niche down and offer something specific, it will be nearly impossible to be seen as the go-to person in your field. 

Think about it – if you wanted to start using Pinterest to grow your business and needed to outsource the management of your account so you can actually get those results, would you:

a) Hire a Pinterest manager – someone who knows the ins and outs of Pinterest like the back of their hand, or 

b) Hire a social media manager who’s only familiar with the very basics of Pinterest and therefore won’t be able to ensure that you get the results the Pinterest manager can promise?

I’d hire the Pinterest manager! This person is clearly an expert in their field and has dedicated all their energy and resources to specialize in this specific platform. Yes, the social media is probably good too, but their attention has been divided among a few different platforms, so it’s highly unlikely that they’d be able to do what the Pinterest manager can.

Take away: if you’re targeting everyone with your service instead of focusing to help your dream client solve a very specific pain point, you are not giving them any reason to see you as the go-to person in your field. Focus on your zone of genius and make sure that you find exactly who it is you want to help with your service so that you can build trust and credibility among them.

#3: You can’t charge premium pricing because you’re not an expert

People who charge premium pricing for their services specialize in one specific thing. 

Experts make it a point to be the very best that they can be in one service so that they can get amazing results for their clients; after all, people pay for transformation and results. The better the results – even if it is a result in one small area – the more they’d be willing to pay you for it because you can guarantee that you can actually give them the transformation they want and need in their lives. And, because you’ve set yourself up as an expert, people will trust you to get the job done!

Being an expert also means that you have extensive experience and knowledge concerning your craft – both of which means you’ve spent a lot of time and resources to obtain. This is another reason why you can charge premium pricing for your offer if you niche down.

Take away: if you’re targeting everyone with your service instead of niching down to help a specific person solve a specific problem, you’ll struggle to get people who’d be willing to pay you a premium price for your service. This means that you’ll be forced to take on more projects at a lower rate just to hit your income goals, which can lead to burn out.

#4: You’ll attract people who you’ll struggle to please

Targeting everyone with your services will also mean that you’ll draw everyone to your business. And while this may seem like a good thing, I can assure you it is NOT.

When you are vague about who you’re serving in your business you will attract people who are vague about what they want because they’re not entirely sure what they can expect from you. Working with people who don’t know what they want can be very frustrating because they can be super hard to please!

This will lead to long, drawn out projects, continuous back-and-forth, miscommunication and a whole lot of expectations from you to deliver massive results with very little input.

However, when you are super clear about who your dream client is and how you can help them achieve XYZ, the people who want to work with you will know exactly what to expect and so they’ll know what it is that they want from you. These people will also be more forthcoming when they need to give input, so your projects will become streamlined and systematic so you can make the best use of your time!

Take away: if you’re targeting everyone with your service you can expect to attract everyone to your business. This means working with people who don’t know what they want and therefore they’ll be real hard to please which can become real unpleasant and stressful. Being absolutely clear on who your dream clients are and how you help these people will draw clients who know what to expect from you, making projects a whole lot easier for you!

#5: Your quality of work will drop

When you combine the four points above it turns into a recipe for an intolerable work environment which will inevitably lead to a drop in the quality of your work. 

In turn, your clients are going to be left dissatisfied, which could hurt your business reputation and your credibility as an expert in your niche.

Instead of trying to work with everyone, try marketing your services with a specific person in mind with whom you’d love to work with because their projects would excite you. 

Doing work that you’re truly passionate about will give you the chance to hone in on your zone of genius and use your talents to its maximum potential. And the more you exercise your specialty, the better you’ll get at it! This is a sure way to become an expert in your niche, get paid for the results you’re able to reach, work with DREAM clients and ultimately, have a business that puts a little extra bounce in your step. 

Take away: taking on projects that you are passionate about and working with clients whom you adore interacting with, will allow you to do your best work. And the more space you give yourself to do your very best work, the more practice you’ll get to continue doing so. Your experience will keep building, you’ll keep learning and growing, challenging yourself to keep improving. This will lead to your clients feeling happy with your work and more dream clients lining up to work with YOU!