Finding a Scalable Niche for Your Industry Expertise
- Akino Davis
- May 11
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 22
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Welcome back to the Becoming An Entrepreneur Newsletter! Last week, we explored Turning Your Corporate Experience Into a Profitable Business Idea, where we explored how your career experience can form the foundations of a successful business.
This week, we’re taking a step forward, moving from idea validation to strategy, by exploring how to find a scalable niche for your industry expertise.
Here’s the truth: the greatest fear of many aspiring entrepreneurs is not just failure, it’s building a business that struggles to grow.
I get it. When I first launched SME Digital, my focus was on individuals start businesses, but I quickly learned that just being good at something isn’t enough. To build a successful business, you need a clear, scalable niche, a space where your skills, experience, and expertise can grow into a profitable business.
The Problem: Trying to Serve Everyone and Struggling
One of the biggest mistakes I see aspiring entrepreneurs make is trying to be everything to everyone. They know they have valuable skills, but instead of focusing on a clear problem they can solve, they spread themselves thin.
Imagine being a generalist coach who says, "I help people succeed." Sounds positive, right? But it’s vague. Success means different things to different people; career success, fitness success, financial success. Without a specific focus, your message gets lost.
In my early days with SME Digital, I made a similar mistake. I thought, "I can help anyone who wants to start a business." But that broad approach made it difficult for potential clients to see how I could help them. It wasn’t until I narrowed down to helping professionals transition into business ownership, a clear, specific problem, that my business began to scale.
Common Solutions That Don’t Work
Many aspiring entrepreneurs try to solve this problem by:
Copying What Others Are Doing: They look at what other businesses in their field are offering and try to replicate it. But this only leads to being a clone without a unique value.
Offering a Wide Range of Services: Thinking that by offering everything, they can please everyone. In reality, this creates confusion and dilutes their value.
Focusing on Passion Without Market Demand: Believing that if they are passionate about something, it will automatically become profitable. But passion without demand leads to a passion project, not a scalable business.
These solutions don’t work because they ignore the importance of niching down. Become known for solving a specific problem for a specific audience.
My Approach: The Niche Clarity Framework
Over the years, I’ve developed a practical framework that helps professionals identify a scalable niche using their industry expertise. It’s called the Niche Clarity Framework, and it’s a simple, three-step process:
1. Skill-Problem Matching
List out your core skills and experiences, especially those gained from your job. Next, identify the problems you can solve using those skills. Think about the challenges your colleagues, clients, or industry peers often face.
For example, when I started SME Digital, I leveraged my experience in operations, project management, and strategic planning. I realized that many professionals wanted to transition to entrepreneurship but were overwhelmed by the process. That was my problem to solve.
2. Audience Specificity
Define the specific audience you want to help. Instead of saying "I help businesses," get clear: "I help mid-career professionals transition from employment to business ownership." The more specific you are, the easier it becomes to reach your ideal clients.
I initially made the mistake of saying "I help entrepreneurs," but when I refined that to "I help professionals transitioning to entrepreneurship," my message became laser-focused, and my audience connected more deeply.
3. Scalability Test
Evaluate if your niche can scale. A scalable niche is one where:
There is consistent demand for your solution.
Your expertise can be packaged into scalable products (like courses, coaching, or consulting).
You can deliver value without always trading time for money.
For me, this meant creating digital products, coaching programs, consulting services and content that could reach a wide audience without relying solely on one-on-one coaching.
A Personal Case Study: How I Found A Scalable Niche for SME Digital
When I launched SME Digital, my focus was scattered. I wanted to help "all aspiring entrepreneurs," but I soon learned that trying to reach everyone meant reaching no one. I went back to my strengths, my experience in project management, strategic planning, and business operations, and asked myself, "Who needs this the most?"
That’s when I refined my focus to helping mid-career professionals transition from employees to entrepreneurs. This clear focus changed everything. I became known for this specific expertise, and my audience grew because my message was clear.
I then developed scalable offers, such as, digital content, business plan writing, content authority, and a premium coaching program, allowing me to serve more people without always trading time for money.
Why This Approach Works
The Niche Clarity Framework works because it aligns your existing skills with a clear problem, a specific audience, and a scalable model. It moves you from being a generalist (and struggling) to being a specialist (and scaling).
Your Next Steps
If you’re ready to find your scalable niche, here’s what you should do:
List Your Skills and Experiences: What do you know best? What problems can you solve?
Identify Your Ideal Audience: Who would benefit most from your expertise?
Evaluate Scalability: Can this niche grow without constantly needing your direct time?
Final Thoughts
Finding a scalable niche is the difference between struggling as a generalist and thriving as a specialist. It allows you to become known for something valuable, attract the right clients, and build a business that doesn’t just survive, but grows.
Ready to build a scalable business around your expertise? Subscribe to the Becoming An Entrepreneur Newsletter at www.smedigital.biz/blog for weekly insights, strategies, and real-world stories to help you transition from a high-performing professional to a successful entrepreneur.
Whenever you are ready, there are more ways that I can help you:
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