“What’s your niche?”

If I’d ask you this question right now, would you be able to provide me an answer without batting an eye?

If you can, then well and good, you must have already figured out what your niche is!

But, if you’re just a super newbie excited at the thought of having a niche, or you’re one of the “not-a-newbie, not-yet-an-expert” kind of freelancer, still clueless as to what niche to pursue, more so how to find it, then this must be one of your lucky days!

No! I’m no fortune teller here and I won’t be able to predict what niche you’ll be most successful in years from now.

But, here’s what I can tell you, the path to your niche discovery is not going to be that easy. However, this simplified guide I came up with will help you sort things out, and will definitely lead you to a niche you can stand out.

Sounds good?

Then, let’s get started!

Get jobs in different general areas and get to experience them.

A lot of freelancers start as a generalist and stay like that for months or even years before they get to decide to level up their freelancing career -  that’s when finding a niche becomes necessary. Well, I’m not saying you have to spend exactly a year trying out different jobs, perhaps 3 to 6 months will already do.

TIP: Always give your best shot at your jobs even if you don’t feel like it. Remember that aside from the experience, you have to gain good feedback from clients as well.

Discover where you are good at.

Everyone’s got to be good at something. Go ahead and discover it.

You can start by listing down the jobs/tasks you’ve already done in the past. Once you come up with the list, try to analyze which of these jobs/tasks you’re good at.

TIP: It might help if you’ll take your client’s feedback into consideration when identifying which jobs you can do well.

Find out what you are passionate about.

I understand that it’s tempting to follow the trend and go for that high-paying niche. For instance, there are lots of freelancers right now going to Facebook Ads. It would be great to pursue it especially if it’s something you really like, but if it’s not and it’s not your passion, you’ll eventually get bored of it, and you’ll end up moving on. And that’s what happened to me and to many other freelancers I know.

TIP: Know thyself! Ask yourself what kind of jobs/tasks you’ve enjoyed working on the most.

Get a good glimpse of the market.

Once you’ve identified a previous job or task you’re good at and you’re passionate about, then it’s time to do your market research. Sometimes, it’s not all about you, you have to understand the market as well.

Here’s a typical scenario, you’ve identified a niche you think would be perfect for you, but then you’ve found out that there’s not much of a demand for that niche.

What’s the best thing to do?

I’d say go back to your goals! If you’re after earning big within a short time frame, then you might want to consider the jobs under this niche as passion projects you can do on the side while pursuing other jobs which brings you towards achieving your short-term goal first.

TIP: Find out exactly what the clients are looking for. You may check the job posts on different freelancing platforms.

Focus on a certain niche for at least 6 months.

This is it! You’ve already identified what niche to pursue, now, try to build your freelancing career towards that niche for at least 6 months. Doing so will allow you to grow your skill sets and eventually, you’ll be able to double or triple your rate.

TIP: You can be more specific and more specialized in your niche. For instance, from Social Media Marketing, you can focus more on Facebook Ads and then specialize even more by choosing your target market. This will make your clients perceive you as an authority in your chosen field. In this example, you can be an FB Ads Expert for Start-Up Companies.

Evaluate your performance on your chosen niche.

It’s now down to judgment time! After the 6-month “trial period”, you’d be able to confirm whether this kind of work is something you can do for years without the slightest chance of getting bored, or if it’s something you’re having fun with and something you’re passionate about. If that’s the case, well then, CONGRATULATIONS, you’ve found your niche!

However, if you feel like it’s the other way around, and it doesn’t spark joy and bores you to death, then, feel free to explore a different niche.

TIP: Just enjoy the process. As for me, I started with the basic admin and research tasks as well. I learned my way through online business and online marketing, got interested in SEO, Web Design, Google Ads, FB Ads, and so on. My own personal niche kept evolving and changing as my own freelancing journey and learnings evolve and change. And that's what I love about freelancing, it allows you to experiment and, in the process, discover what you really love. Furthermore, you can decide to keep moving and there is no end to where you can go.

To become an expert on something is not that simple, but if you want to be able to charge higher rates and go to the next level of your freelancing career, then FINDING A NICHE YOU CAN STAND OUT IS THE WAY TO GO!

Do you have tips or stories to share on how you’ve found your niche? Let us know in the comments below!

Want a course that will introduce you to the most profitable Virtual Assistant niches? Get started now by signing up to the VA BOOTCAMP COURSE here.