How to Find Your Niche as a Service Provider: Know Your Strengths, Know What Clients Need, Say No to the Rest

Sarah opens in September 2020, mid-pandemic. Fresh mascara, a brand-new ring light, and real nerves before a sales call. A few minutes in, the man on the other end explains he expects her to connect him with a list of employers ready to hire. She’s a coach. Not a headhunter. That call taught her to get very clear about what her business does and doesn’t do. Six years later, three of her business-coaching clients brought her the same question in one week: should I be offering this?From there she walks through a simple framework for deciding what belongs in your service business, why saying no is so hard when you spent years playing by someone else’s rules, and why you’re allowed to keep changing your answers.If a client keeps asking for something that isn’t yours to give, this one is for you.WHAT YOU’LL TAKE AWAYWhy Sarah still offers a free 30-minute consultation, and who it protectsWhy she won’t write your resume for you, and what that has to do with your next interviewThe two questions every service business starts with: what are your superpowers, and what does the market need and pay forWhy the work you keep avoiding is useful informationHow to spot scope creep, from bending over backwards for a sale to problem-solving for clients when it isn’t your jobWhy your business is allowed to change as you doIN THIS EPISODE00:44 September 2020: a ring light, a sales call, and “I’m not a headhunter”03:09 What that call taught me about my business03:54 Why I still offer free 30-minute consultations04:29 “Can I just send you my stuff?” Why we do your resume together06:18 Three clients, one question: should I be offering this?06:53 The parent coach and the scope of the work07:45 Why saying no is hard when you’ve always played the game08:50 The parts of entrepreneurship I don’t love09:37 Step 1: Know your superpowers (and the work you avoid)11:44 Step 2: Know what the market needs and will pay for12:36 Your energy doesn’t lie13:42 Road bumps: contorting yourself and solving problems that aren’t yours16:33 We let kids reinvent themselves. Why stop at 22?18:04 The life events that change us, at home and at work19:54 My business keeps changing with me20:23 Let’s talkYOUR REFLECTION QUESTIONSThese look simple on paper. They aren’t. Give yourself real time with them, and let your answers be different than they were five years ago.What are you uniquely good at? What comes easily to you?What work do you keep avoiding, even though you’re good at it?What do your clients know they need, and what do you know they need?Where are you saying yes right now to something that isn’t yours to do?MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEA free 30-minute consultation with Sarah, to see if you’re a good fit: sarahdecker.comGoogle Drive, where Sarah and her clients work on resumes, business plans, and websites togetherEpisode 2, How to Know It’s Time to Quit Your Job and Start a Business, if you’re still deciding whether to build your own thingWORK WITH SARAHIf you’re building a business and can’t tell where the line is, I’d love to chat. Whether you want to get unstuck or build something of your own, you don’t have to do it alone.Work with Sarah and see all the ways to get support at sarahdecker.com.Follow along on Instagram @sarah.decker.coaching.If this episode found you at the right time, share it with someone who needs it.New here? Start with Episode 1, then follow the show so you don’t miss what’s coming. And if you’ve got a second, leaving a review helps another woman find her way in.