Do What You Do Better than Anyone Else: Finding Your Niche

Why did you get into managed IT? Everybody has their own reasons. Was it an industry you fell into, or the result of careful planning? Did you transition from working for the internal IT department of a company? Have you always dreamed of a career in technology, or did you try other industries before finding your niche?

When it comes to finding success in business, it doesn’t really matter where you came from. Instead, it’s more about what you do then where you’re currently at. Did you know that many of the most successful entrepreneurs accidently got their start in their field, and that it often took multiple attempts to get things right?

For example, look at some of these prominent names in entrepreneurialism:

• Sam Walton, the founder of retail supergiant Walmart, started with the small, family-owned marketplace Butler Brothers back in 1945. Now, several decades later, you can’t mention retail without the name Walmart coming up.
• Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, started his social networking journey with the dating website SocialNet.com. Even as he’s moved into a more professional environment, he’s still focusing on helping people develop relationships with each other.
• Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, first tried his hand at an international coffee shop Il Giornale, named after the Milanese newspaper. Eventually, the name would be changed to Starbucks. Thus, the coffee enterprise business owners know today was born.

Each of these men built a successful business from their past experiences. In each of these above cases, they started off small and found new ways to do business in a competitive market.

Your business can undergo a similar metamorphosis, and it can be as simple as concentrating on what you do better than anyone else. Once you’ve found your niche in business, drive it home. In the incredibly competitive world of IT service, focusing on your niche will distinguish you in the marketplace. Your niche can be; a specific industry (e.g. dental or manufacturing), meeting standards and compliances (e.g. HIPAA or security clearances), an accomplishment (e.g. 20 years of service, voted top IT company in your community), or anything else that makes you stand out.

Here are three tips to help you find your niche:

Know What You Do Best
Once you know how your specialty distinguishes you from the countless others in your market, you can focus intently on packaging, delivering, and marketing what it is that you do best. This renewed focus will serve as a powerful advantage over your competition.

Know Your Ideal End Goal
When considering what your business does best, it’s important to always have the ultimate end goal of your company in mind. What’s the end result you’re hoping to achieve? With your goal clearly defined, your business won’t get distracted and miss great opportunities. A business that knows what its end goal is can focus all of its resources on achieving their goal.

Know Your Consumer
In order to provide your customers with the best quality service possible, you must first understand what their needs are. That way, all of your marketing efforts can go toward meeting these customer expectations.

Whether you immediately found your calling, or you stumbled upon it accidentally, you’ve likely experienced success on some level. Take this success and build off of it. From here, the sky’s the limit! Share what your niche is in the comments below and how you’ve experienced success in it!