How-To: Position Your Business For Success

Today I want to talk about where and how to position your business in your niche market, and how it's important to choose a position that aligns with your income goals. While this can be a bit tricky to do, it's so crucial because you want your business to fit your life. 

So how do you do this?

STEP 1: ASSESS YOUR COMPETITION

When I was first starting out this part made me feel uncomfortably sneaky since I was majorly creeping on the competition. I was nosing around their websites and social media channels to assess what I could do better, as well as how I could differentiate my business from theirs. 

Take some time to research some of your competitors, and pick the three who you see as your main competition. What are they doing well, and what are they doing wrong? Also be sure to look at their pricing, as this can tell you a lot about the type of client they are targeting. 

Note: While it's important to keep an eye on the competition, don't let their successes feel like your failures. Don't let the competition influence your business so much that it compromises your branding and vision. While you might see a competitor really excelling at something, carefully assess whether that same thing would actually work for your business. 

STEP 2: FIGURE OUT YOUR TARGET CLIENT

Who you work with says a lot about your and your business. Luckily, there's a pretty simple formula for figuring this one out:

Your Passion + How You Help People = Your Niche/Focus

So now that you know your brand focus, you need to consider whether that target client has money. While this might seem a bit crude, this is obviously a crucial factor to the success of your business. If you target audience doesn't have money to spare, you might need to re-evaluate, or get creative with your offerings. 

STEP 3: FIGURE WHAT MAKES YOU STAND OUT

You've already taken a good hard look at your competition, so now it's time to think about what makes you better than them. What would inspire a potential client to choose you over a competitor?

While your skills might be on par with a few of your competitors, maybe your communication and interpersonal skills will stand out. Figure out your unique skill or offering and go with it; incorporate it into your website copy, business cards and more to it's obvious at first glance.  

STEP 4: THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY YOU NEED TO MAKE

This part is boring, but super important. Break down your monthly expenses and be very honest with yourself. Make sure your goal is honest and attainable. 

You Need To Make $_____ Per Year. That's $_____ Per Month. 

STEP 5: PRICE YOUR SERVICES

Now that you know how much money you will ideally make each month, it's now time to price your services accordingly. While this will vary greatly person-to-person, here's a loose formula for figuring it out:

How Much $ You Want To Make Each Monthly + How Many Gigs You Can Sell/Offer Each Month = Your Fee

STEP 6: START HUSTLIN'

At this point you should be all set to get to work! Figure out what will work for you and start putting it into action.