Overcoming Niching Anxiety as a Wellness Practitioner

I’m sitting on my porch as I write this all bundled up in a blanket with a warm drink in my hand feeling the cold winter air on my face. I think that what I love most about Winter is the invitation the cold weather brings to hibernate. The cool air beckons me to go inward, to stop doing so much and start the process of germinating something new.

Can you relate? When was the last time your own creative juices started flowing?

What happens if you brainstorm and get all excited and then when it comes time to share your idea or new creation with your clients you get tongue tied with questions like…"how will I share about my new project?" How will it help address your clients problems? How can you communicate that to them in a clear and succinct way? 

For health and wellness professionals, niching down is a topic that can stir up a plethora of emotions, from anxiety and fear to excitement and inspiration. 

So if it’s such a mixed bag you may ask the question, "do I really need to narrow down my audience when what I want is to help everyone?”

In this blog, we’ll explore this anxiety around niching down and avoid the trap most health and wellness professionals fall into when they are trying to develop a product (book, podcast, course ect) by creating the optimal conditions for your product idea to grow. 

Overcoming Niching Anxiety When Developing a Product

When it comes to helping others our technique might not vary too much from one individual to the next which is why if we are trying to develop a product of some sort - whether it be a book, a workshop, class or a program, it goes against everything we’ve learned to try to narrow down our target audience to create a digital buzz around that product.

That’s why, as wellness professionals, finding clarity around an ideal audience for a product you are developing just might be one of the hardest things we may ever have to do. 

Seeds will remain dormant until the conditions are just right. Only once the right conditions (water, oxygen and optimal temperature) are present, will they begin the process of germination - the precursor to the growth we can see with our eyes when a baby sprout pops its head above the surface. 

Knowing what their seeds need to grow,  gardeners help create these optimal conditions for seeds with greenhouses, artificial sunlight and watering. Much is the same with our creative projects as wellness professionals. After we spend countless hours working with our clients, eventually a little seed of an idea might itself in our hearts and minds. This seed idea could be an improvement on a technique or a new idea how we can better help our clients or it could be a workshop or training we want to offer. 

Creating Optimal Conditions for Growth 

The trap I see almost every wellness professional I have ever worked with fall into – including myself – is not having a clear understanding of the optimal conditions our seed ideas need to grow. So our seed ideas sit there waiting and waiting. Or maybe you try to push them out into the world before they are ready and the message falls flat. 

So what are those optimal conditions that we need as mindful entrepreneurs? Instead of sun (UV light), air (CO2), water, temperature and soil (minerals), the conditions our little seed idea need are:

1. Seeing a specific need/problem that needs to be solved
2. Having a unique solution for that need/problem 
3. Resources (time and/or money)  
4. Knowing the specific type of person (of all the people with that problem) who is ready and able to adopt your unique solution

This brings me back to my initial question, “why narrow down your audience when you know you can help everyone?

If we identify a problem and a solution, let’s look deeper. Who is most ready and willing to adopt your unique solution? Until we get clarity on that, our seed will remain dormant.

Once you know who you are creating your solution for and what that specific type of person needs to be successful in adopting your solution, you can begin to create a product to help them find success.

I invite you to check out our Online Health & Wellness Foundations Workbook for a step by step plan on how to get clarity on your niche for your next product or business idea. We created this workbook specifically for mental health and wellness professionals who are ready to grow and expand their business.

Author: SkillfulMeans Staff