 There is a foundational error that a lot of solopreneurs make when they try to build a business of their dreams, a livelihood that they can really feel is authentic to them. And this is the error. They think they need to define themselves and present themselves to the world with a polished presence. Before they then get plenty of clients. And I have seen, I've been around coaching solopreneurs like this since 2009, and I've noticed this error year after year after year in all these people that I'm meeting who need help. And so hopefully this video will serve as a bit of something I can send to to everyone I'm seeing is struggling with this, which is, there is this illusion that there is a right way to define yourself to find your specialty to find your niche or the place that you can really before you then get out there and get clients create content all that stuff. And what I have noticed. And let me know if you agree with me is that society is moving so fast. And you are evolving so quickly that any definition you give of yourself is going to feel stale. You know, sooner than you think before, before your website is done, you already feel like, oh, I've already moved beyond this. You know, before your, you know, you built your 1000 social media followers on a particular topic, you've already moved beyond it. This is where I wish I could tell this to everyone that instead of trying to define yourself before you build a business. You actually do it the other way around. You build a business before you define yourself. You grow an audience before you clarify your message. You talk to people before you understand what you can help them with. This is actually how authentic evolution of your understanding of yourself works. Were you born and once you learn language you're like oh I know I know what I'm supposed to do for the rest of my life. No, you are just like me, you know, we're all still trying to figure it out. And all we can do is step by step every day. We try to help somebody else. We make a comment here. We create some content there. Maybe we maybe we do have a client or two or five or 10 that we're already serving that we're trying to figure out how we can better help them. And the more we interact with the world. The more we understand, ah, this is what I like. This is what I'm good at. This is what I'm not good at. And these are the kinds of people I don't like to work with. Oh, this kind of person I really enjoy. How can you define your niche in the beginning of your business when you know you haven't even interacted with the world about your possible offerings and your content yet. I don't get it. And I've been around as a business coach entrepreneurial coach marketing expert quote unquote since 2009 and I just this has always baffled me like how can you define your niche so early on. Well, you can, of course, because that's what a lot of the mainstream advice is. You know, I mean, when you go on Wikipedia how to start a business or whatever, like any mainstream advisor, first write a business plan, who was your target market, you know, what is your offer for them. You know, what is what is your business model going to be for them like you're supposed to define every well because the original traditional business plans were meant for people who are getting investments. And so they have to bring something to the bank or to the investor to be to be appear to be polished and defined so that the investor will give them money. But that's not so so like I said a lot of that traditional advice is based on that kind of model. But we, most of us here are not trying to get investment into our business before we go out there and, and have a, you know, go to market strategy or whatever know what we're trying to do is go. I have some, I have a skill, I have some skills I'm sure I'm not even sure what they are but I know I have some skills. I have a passion, or maybe several areas of interest. I have a heart for people and to use my life force and energy in a way that's uplifts the world. I have that. And what I hope for is that people will decide that it's worth paying me and paying me well, and that I can serve them and give them lots of value. That's what I know. We're not trying to get investment. Right. And so what do we do we put one step, one foot in front of the other and say, Well, let me begin by talking to somebody, you know, starting with your friends and say, I've got these five different skills and I'm just going to brainstorm maybe you can brainstorm with me. What are my different skills that I could provide. You know, don't don't make assumptions, just because you've already named yourself something just because you already have a website, you've already called you have a tagline already you have something already. Maybe you still have to find yourself too early, probably have. No, this is why I really, I mean, look, look, I haven't changed my tagline authentic business coach for all these years. I honestly don't even like it. I mean, I came up with it was kind of clever in the beginning or ABC authentic business coach but I honestly haven't resonated with my tagline for ever since like maybe month to I mean I defined it maybe and I don't know 2015 just putting something out there I don't care I just wanted, I had to create a Facebook page I put something out there and like, but but then I've just, you know, and then you know, and then yes I've talked about authentic business I don't really even love that term to be honest with me, but I just try to help people and I come up with courses that so here's here's what where I think niching where I think defining oneself makes more sense is experimental offers. You can niche yourself down so here's the here's the kicker here. All right, here's the punchline. Niche your offers. Don't niche yourself ever until until one day, it becomes so obvious to you what you want to do for the rest of your life or at least for the next 10 years or five years, then okay you can niche yourself and call yourself something and ideally that's the state. You've already called yourself something like I have just leave it just leave it don't worry about it so much. Just niche your offers short you could try out different things, but don't need yourself, because you are more creative and multi potential than that, then then a single tagline or niche that you can give yourself. So how do I introduce myself on a call. Say something different every day. Really, I mean, but then they'll think I'm crazy. They'll think you're interesting. Who's going to think you're crazy who's going to think, who's going to, who's going to think less of you. They're not for you. The people who are judging you, you have to get this through to your head they're not for you people who are judging you are not for you. People who find you interesting because you're saying something different every day. There's an energy signature match where they're like, wow, I'm going to follow this person's journey they're so interesting. They're not boring. And always about one thing only. You know, it's like, so many of us are so afraid of being just who is who is judging us I'm really curious like who who's in your head judging you who's which friend which, you know family member which colleague is judging you they're not your ideal client. They're not your ideal referral source there's so many people out there. You have to get out there and and create in a diverse way whatever is interesting for you. You create another diverse way so here's the, here's the alternate path that I wish every young person and old person alike knows about the divert the alternate path is this and I have I have some notes from my son and look at this. First brainstorm or search a little bit within yourself on what excites you, what brings you energy. Look out into the world and see what you love talking about what you love, you know, helping to contribute to that field or that that problem to help solve that problem, or to help humanity have more of those experiences. A little bit of a little bit of self reflection or if you even it's more helpful to talk with a friend, or a coach, who is who, who allows you to be flexible, who's not going to make you define yourself in in session to or even session 20. So let's not define yourself so quickly. Let's allow yourself to tap into your potential to allow that instead of going well I'm this so therefore that must not be for me. Why, why are you defining yourself so quickly. Well George I'm 67 years old. Great. You have, maybe you have another 20 good years of passionate enjoyable work ahead of you. George I'm 75 maybe maybe you also have another 20 years right ahead of you have good passionate enjoyable fulfilling work. Never too old to explore to find again, again, because why. Well, because you never allowed yourself to explore probably you had somebody tell you you had to define yourself quickly, and you got locked in that that's me. No it's not no it's not you have so you're so much greater than this. You work with somebody who believes in you to allow yourself to explore. If that's if you can hire a coach for that that would be great because they're accountable to you to help you explore and allow yourself to give yourself that permission to really explore widely and to test widely and to to observe the test a coach is very useful. Thank you for this because they again they give you more of a discipline of exploration, and then analysis, and they keep you accountable to doing that. If you don't have a coach can afford one talked with a friend get together with someone send a friend, a trusted colleague or friend this video and you can explore together. Get together on a regular basis help each other. What is possible. Right that's just just to speak just to begin that exploration step one don't don't spend too long. You know, you know, you should spend no more than one month, just just talking and exploring internally. Keep doing it for the rest of your life, but make sure you move to the next step. The next step is to create and publish your explorations to be willing to publicly journal. Your explorations where where you do it. What would I do with George Facebook profile, where your friends are ignoring whoever family member or friend or colleague is shaking their finger are you why are you so flaky. Why are you trying this and that on this today you're talking about this tomorrow you're talking about that oh great yeah. Thank you. Thank you, you know, dear, and your friend your colleague your classmate your neighbor dear whatever person you knew 10 years ago. Thank you. Apparently you don't understand entrepreneurship by, you know, I'm sorry you don't understand it you don't have to tell them that but that's what you think yeah they don't understand entrepreneurship. True entrepreneurship is exploration. True entrepreneurship is the opening the flowering of your potential in service to the world of course to add value to the world. But true entrepreneurship is not. I need to find myself quickly because I'm scared that people are going to pay attention to me if I don't have a really clear niche, a clear tagline a clear blah blah blah blah blah blah. No, that's not that's not true entrepreneurship and that's not that in that your, your, your, that's the word I'm looking for you are preventing your potential. You're stymying it you are stunting your growth with with that kind of thinking so step one allow yourself to explore hopefully work with somebody a friend a coach if you can. And then step two as quickly as you can, create and place those explorations out there we don't know where put it on your Facebook profile. You know puts put it, you know friends only privacy if you prefer that or create a create a little Facebook group, create a little Facebook group with you and your coach, and maybe two or three other supportive friends, who maybe also want to explore. Maybe maybe three of your friends want to hire a coach or four of your friends want to get together hire a coach for a little tiny group program, where you are you're all exploring together that's a great idea by the way right. If you're if you're a coach and willing to do that with with three or four people paying you please comment below. So, so you immediately start to create as soon as possible you start to create and put things out there. If you're shy do it in the tiny group of supportive people, allowing you to explore and sharing you on in your explorations. Create content on these different interests, because why you need to feel that content come through you and see if you want to do more of it. Like you'll never know and until you see you feel that coming through you whether you're making videos, or you're writing on a topic or you're recording a podcast or you're creating some images or whatever it may be. You whatever interest you let that come through you in exploration, so that you can see how that feels like in firsthand you, because you'll never know. You don't want to, you want to die without having explored that aspect of you, right and to do it. Again, publicly, at least in a small supportive group of people if not, if you're willing to do a public social media go for it, because then you're you're even speeding the process up even more. So we are exploring with our content in service to our audience. So that's the other side of it. So content creation is this then diagram of exploring oneself and once possibilities and potential in in service. So there's that sweet spot in the middle, you could always explore yourself but sometimes that's just private journaling exploring yourself, we're talking privately with a coach or friend that's fine. But if you can do it publicly or at least in a small group that you're doing it in service or public public journal you're doing it in part like part of this is you exploring yourself a part of this is also wondering. I wonder if this exploration serves somebody who is seeing this serve somebody who's reading this or listening to this or enjoying this piece of content. They may or may not enjoy it. I wonder, I wonder if this is helpful to them in some way, maybe I'm giving them some words for an exploration that interesting for them to. So that's, that's the next step, you know, you create publicly as much as possible with explorate with the heart of exploration and also a spirit of service to those who are seeing it. And by doing so, you find your, you find your voice more and more, you discover your true interests more and more and you also discover what of your interests are also fascinating for people as you explore publicly. And this is how we actually discover our niche now now that's that's just the next so we first step was, you know, start the exploration, maybe with a coach maybe with a friend, at least you can start to try, try out some wild ideas and then, as soon as you can start to post the explorations publicly, with an experimental mindset, I'm just exploring, and I'm going to see which of my explorations happens to delight uplift help serve in some way, those who are seeing it. And then the next step is, once you have built some interest in any of those and you know let's say you've explored on three different topics five seven 1215 different topics. And over the course of several months. And you notice. Oh, wow. When I explore on topic three, topic seven and topic 12. They tend to get the most engagement on on on those when I talk about those things or when I explore that side of my interest that gets the most engagement. Oh, that's that's cool. I enjoy it too. Okay, good. Then the next step is, you create a light offer, based on that air those areas of interest again do it one at a time maybe do it once a month, one one per month. You create an offer this and you, you ask your audience. What do you think about this. If not, what else could I offer in this area that you think would sell you think people would be eager to to to get the service or, or get the product. So in other words you create a fan based offering you create an offer based on in interaction with your fans with the fans of your explorations. But you deliver that offer whatever people you know maybe maybe the first offer people go yeah you know it's not quite right I don't think I'd buy it. I don't think people buy it you know. And then you keep you test and create until you find one people go yes that one. That one I'm interested in signing up for or that one I know somebody. I think I could refer you to two of my friends who probably would be interested in this. So then you do then you serve them you serve those people with that offer. It's maybe it's a low cost at the beginning or maybe it's even limited time for free at the beginning you're trying a few sessions out or whatever. But it's something that you actually want to serve them they're actually signing up for something. And then you're delivering it to them. It's a beta test. Right. But it is a real test based on having had some explorations that have already touched your audience. Okay, so you serve them with that offer and then you keep. And then after you serve them, you have your first real inkling of what your niche is. You've done all this to get the real first inkling. Oh wow. I've created content in these different areas. They seem to like this area a lot. I've tested different offers. They seem to like that offer. I've served them I enjoy serving them they got benefit from it. Now I'm getting the first inkling of what my niche could be. You see, now the cycle begins again. And then go back and go great. Let me continue creating content. Now that I have, I really enjoy in this area of service. Maybe I'll create more content in this around this area. I'll, I'll weigh more of my content options around this area but I'll still keep exploring sometimes. And then you post content post content post content. You create another fan based offering, you serve them again. And then your niche gets even clearer. And then the cycle done again and again is really what helps you discover your calling. This is how an authentic business is born. Not by defining yourself in the beginning when you don't even have an audience you didn't have people for whom was going to give you any opinions, and you don't have you haven't you explored different areas coming through you to see what it feels like. This is what Michael that I've just said and promise you you will be much more in tune with your real potential. I hope this is helpful. I hope this inspires you to explore more whatever stage you're at even if you're quite an advanced stage. Take what I just said and apply it in some way. So you're opening yourself to more exploration. Thank you so much for watching. I look forward to seeing the comments below.