The Power of the Niche: Sarah's Strategic Turnaround

How Finding Her Niche Transformed Sarah's Consulting Work From a Grind to a Growth Engine.

Last week, I had a conversation with Sarah, a solo consultant who helps businesses turn around.

When we first met a few years ago, she often found herself stretched thinly.

Because she is so amazingly skilled and knowledgeable, Sarah felt she could help a great number of people with a variety of problems and challenges.

She would take on projects across various industries and specializations.

I called it "throwing Spaghetti against the wall and seeing which one sticks" - a practice I learned from an Italian friend in high school.

Try it yourself. If they are al dente, they lightly stick.

So did Sarah's clients.

There was only one problem.

Each one came with a unique set of challenges and required a deep dive into their specific industry, competitive landscape, and company culture.

She was constantly in a learning mode.

While this allowed Sarah to grow her skill set, it also meant that she couldn't capitalize on systematizing her expertise or processes.

Her income was dependent on her working billable hours. Every. Single. Day.

Vacation with the fam? Yeah. And the laptop on the beach.

And let me tell you from experience, you don't want sand on your keyboard any more than you want mold in your spaghetti sauce.

But then, Sarah came across the concept of the "sweet spot" as described by Mike Michalowicz, and took the Sweet Spot Assessment .

It revealed that her true value doesn’t lie in the breadth of her work, but in the depth she provides within her area of greatest impact - strategic turnarounds for eco-conscious companies.

By honing in on this niche, Sarah was able to deepen her expertise further, create repeatable strategies tailored to this sector, and provide her clients with unparalleled insights and value.

Sarah's story is a common narrative in consultancy.

At first, solo consultants resist niching down thinking that the wider they cast the net, the more likely will they catch a client. The thought of missing out on opportunities terrifies them.

Such diversification can indeed be a path to success - until it becomes too much and unsustainable.

As a result, consultants lose focus and gain burnout like Starbucks baristas.

Here is what I mean by that...

In Italy, you can get an espresso for just one Euro faster than you can grab the attention of a Starbucks barista in the US who is ready to prepare drinks in more than 170,000 ways (that number is real) to customize beverages to clients' wishes.

The difference? The Italian coffee shop most likely only prepares two kinds of coffee - espresso and cappuccino. They may do an Americano or "acqua sporca" (dirty water) as they often call it.

And that's how Sarah felt about her consultant practice - acqua sporca. It lacked a true sense of fulfillment and efficiency.

But by niching down and focusing on this intersection of her passion for sustainability and her skill in strategic planning, Sarah began to attract clients that energized and inspired her.

Today, she is no longer just a consultant to her clients; green businesses now see her as a partner in innovation.

Sarah's story is a classic lesson in the transformative power of discovering the confluence of what you do exceptionally well and what brings the highest value to your clients.

Be the 1-Euro espresso maker of consultants.

When you find this intersection, your work doesn't just satisfy - it thrives, allowing you to systematize and operationalize your business for optimum performance.

Sarah, for example, has seen her client satisfaction soar as she delivered tailored solutions with greater impact. Her work began to resonate on a deeper level, which led to referrals and a stronger, more distinctive personal brand.

Strategically, operating in your sweet spot means less competition and more growth opportunities. It's about leveraging your strengths in a way that can be systematized, creating a scalable model that maximizes both profit and satisfaction.

It's not just about being good at something, or even being passionate about it. It's about being in a space where your business thrives without you - so that you can leave the laptop at home and enjoy that espresso before going to the beach.

Take the Sweet Spot Assessment , and like Sarah, you may find that it's the key to unlocking a more fulfilling and profitable future for your business.

Take it right away. It’ll only take two minutes – most likely the best two minutes you’ll spend all day.

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