Regardless of how long you’ve been freelancing, you’re going to face this challenge at one point or another: How do you move from the core service you’re offering to something significantly or slightly different? How do you listen to the warning signs that it’s time to make a change in your freelance business? There are lots of different reasons why you may need to switch gears. In this episode, we’ll walk you through five key steps to successfully transition to a new niche!

Podcast Outline:

[0:39] Craig introduces the topic of how to effectively change your niche. He suggests possible reasons that might lead you to make this decision. 

[1:32] Craig talks about the movie “You’ve Got Mail” and how it illustrates the need to switch gears in a business when you come to a crossroads.

[3:14] Craig outlines the 6 key warning signs that reveal it’s time to make a change. Be sure to do some self-evaluation as we go through the list!

Five Key Steps to Successfully Transition to a New Niche

[8:36] #1 Assess your current offerings and service niche - What do you like about it and what do you enjoy doing? What don’t you like about it? Craig suggests a list of questions to ask yourself and decide what changes you could make. He also introduces a resource called the Niche Identification Matrix.

[11:58] #2 Evaluate your fit with your current target audience - Do you enjoy working with this audience? What audience would you best serve? Craig provides an example of a FreeU student who works with a particular audience in an industry she loves.

[13:22] #3 Consider how to amplify your existing niche - What additional services could you add on to your existing services? Craig shares an example of how a niche can be amplified and how to identify complementary services.

[15:13] #4 Research new niches that might interest you - How to think outside the box and figure out options. Craig talks about a FreeU student who switched to a completely different niche that suited her.

[17:39] #5 Test the niche and see where it takes you - How to avoid being stuck in a rut and switch if you need to. Craig encourages us to avoid feeling like we have to choose a niche and stay with it whether we love it or not.

[19:02] Summary of the five key steps to successfully changing your niche

[20:04] Craig shares how Freelance University gives students access to all different tracks so they can try out courses and figure out what they want to do. He describes the types of resources and courses you can access.

Resources and tools discussed in this episode:

Niche Identification Matrix

Infusionsoft by Keap https://keap.com/infusionsoft 

WordPress https://wordpress.org/ 

Freelance University training: https://www.freelanceu.com/university/