Me: "Have you picked yet?"

Client: "Picked what?"

Me: "Picked a group of people to... (work with, offer your product to, etc.)"

Client: "Um, well, yes, women..."

Me: "What kind of women? Women in business, women at home, women who are middle-aged, single women, women who are moms, women who dance...?"

Client: "Um, well, all women, really. I don't want to limit myself and I know what I have to offer can help ALL women."

Is this ringing any bells? Now while I don't argue that whatever it is that you're offering to the the world would be valuable to lots of people, 'people' like 'women' is simply too big a group to target.

Why not make it easy on yourself and your marketing efforts and narrow down your playing field a bit. Once you do that, your marketing messages become very clear and targeted, you know exactly how to talk to this group because you either do or can learn easily to speak their language, and it makes it much easier for others to refer you.

As for limiting yourself, you'll find just the opposite happens - people outside your target market WILL show up for you anyway. Picking a group of people as your target market really is a key foundational piece for building a really successful business.

That being said, once you're chosen a group of people to work with, you'll want to make sure that it's a viable one to sustain your business for the long-term. It's fantastic to be passionate about your niche, but if those people don't have money to spend on your offerings, or there's simply not enough of them, you're not going to be able to grow and sustain a business based on it.

Here are 5 keys to look for to decide if a niche is a viable one for your business:

1. They are easy to find and reach.

Can you think of three places (online or off) where your target market gathers, whether it's in a formal or informal fashion? Can you get easy access to them?

2. They hang out in some organized fashion.

Are there memberships, associations, and organizations made up of your target market? Is there a list of members that you can access?

3. There are enough of them.

Your niche has to be large enough to sustain your business for the long haul. It's great to have a highly specialized niche that's small, but if you do, see #4.

4. They have money.

In order for you to stay in business, your niche has to have enough money to pay for your offerings. In addition, they need to understand the value of what it is that you're offering in order to invest that money with you. In other words, do they need to be educated about how your offerings will serve them in some way, or do they already get it?

5. They have a problem worth solving.

Every niche has struggles and challenges. In order for you to build a viable business within that niche, they have to have problems that they really want solved. Be sure to listen in to the conversations the people in your niche are having to understand what they are struggling with the most to see if there are solutions you can offer.

Once you gain some clarity around your niche, make sure to apply the 5 keys above to be sure you're choosing a group of people who you can serve well and vice versa.

? 2007 Alicia M Forest