Finding your niche is one of the best ways to guarantee success as a freelancer – and gets clients that you actually want, too!

I do believe it’s the passion which is the most important – if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, you’re going to burn out pretty quickly.

Expertise, experience, strengths and weaknesses are of course good things to keep in mind. My past has been in development, and I’m absolutely not creative in the design sense, so whilst I’ll probably excel in tech related areas, anything relating to creative is going to leave me absolutely frustrated.

Thanks, Ben!

Jim,

Sometimes niches bonk you on the head and say, “Hey! This is what you’re good at.” No problem with that!

No reason you can’t illustrate too – life is a journey, and where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Barbara,

Jealous! I’m really no good at textures, patterns, or swirls.

A niche is what you carve out for yourself – if a design style is your niche (check out Theresa’s comment above), then go for it!

Diane,

Thanks for the invite – I’d love to come on the show. And what a great idea! I’m really looking forward to the 12/5 episode.

Let’s plan something for the beginning of the year (my December is already hectic).

Thanks for sharing!

Theresa,

Congrats! Isn’t it wonderful waking up to a job you love?!

Thanks for sharing!

I think you hit the nail on the head. Sometimes you need others to tell you your niche. When you’re starting out, sometimes it’s the first indication someone wants your help that gets you going 🙂 Great article, April.

Now I do this with my design work using some cool filters and such as I find it gives the designs more depth. So far clients like it and some have commented – “how did you do that?” One thing I will note is that when I lived in NM, clients were far more open to colors/textures etc. Then again so much of NM is about art and color! Now that I live in a state that is more tech based, I have had to tone it down – but it’s still there.

I would not necessarily call it my niche per se – but more of one of the attributes I bring to my designs.

Recently I have found perspective to find another thing I think I excel at and enjoy, helping business owners and design firms figure out new ways to reach new customers. Sitting down and talking to my clients about expanding their reach gets the business owners excited and energizes me as well. I know I enjoy helping people grow their business and reach their audience.

But one thing I struggle with as a solopreneur designer is staying inspired, motivated, and educated. When I go to a conference (once or twice a year) I get that recharging of my design battery. But I want that energizing feeling more often but I don’t have time to go to monthly meetings. We are busy and work hard and often times late, I feel like I am not alone, that other designers want to connect with other designers and get motivated, inspired, and energized as well, right?

So this summer I began recording live interviews weekly with other designers to discuss topics related to design on an online platform called Spreecast. This free, online community of designers has grown each week averaging 300 views in the first seven days. All the episodes are recorded and available for viewing after each airing and each show is beneficial to designers at any level. Each episode is an hour long and has been described as “a laid-back conversation between designers.”

I am enjoying it and finally feel like “this” is what I was meant to do. April you should check it out I would love to have you on the show sometime it, you can find all the recorded episodes at my website or at http://www.spreecast.com/channels/design-recharge-channel

Alex,

I know the feeling – the idea of narrowing your focus makes you think you’re going to “lose out” on clients, but really it helps you reach more people because you’re targeting their needs rather than hoping they need your services.

Finding your niche does make you feel good inside!

Thanks for sharing!

Steve,

You know you’ve found your niche when you get excited. 🙂 Isn’t it grand when you get a project like that?!

Thanks for sharing!

It took me a while to have the courage to narrow down my target audience. When just getting started, turning away from potential clients and money is perhaps THE hardest step to take but definitely the most rewarding. Now that I’ve taken that step, I feel so much more engaged and energized; it’s a Win – Win!