In order to claim your expert, you need to have a niche.
Those who claim to be generalist send a jack of all trades message, which essentially means a master of none.
It also means you will not be memorable to any other professionals, blending in amongst all the others who “do a little bit of everything”.
Think about how you feel when you ask a client to define their interest, how they see themselves as a person and they are unable to do so. How do you feel when a client is afraid to define themselves, to stake a claim on their existence? When they say things like “I’m not really that special, I don’t really have any interests or hobbies”.
My guess is you don’t see them as confident or inspiring. You see them as needing quite a bit of personal development.
This is not the message you want to give other professional and clients about
Sometimes people ask me “How do I choose my niche?” I will generally suggest they address their fears before they choose their niche. Because, unless you address the fears you won’t do it. You won’t niche. You won’t claim your expert.
I believe most therapists know what they like working with, what they are good at working with and what interests them. So if they can’t loudly proclaim that – fear is their problem.
Claiming your niche requires you to face several fears and
Because it is fear that stops the majority of therapists from claiming their niche.
- Fear of not getting enough referrals.
- Fear of people thinking that’s all you can do.
- Fear of not getting enough clinical variety of therapy clients to sustain your interest.
- Fear that you’re not as good as the world expert in your chosen niche area.
- Fear that you can’t change your mind or direction and you’ll be stuck with your niche for life.
Like most fears, fears around niching are exactly that – just fears. When you move past the fears and claim your niche you will reap the benefits of claiming your expert.
What actually happens when you claim your niche:
- You will become memorable in the minds of other professionals, especially those who refer.
- You will be seen as having specialist knowledge.
- You will also be seen as capable of working with other problems because of your niche.
- As someone who has changed their niche due to market demand when I entered private practice, I can tell you it is within your power to change your niche at any time you decide.
When you claim your niche, you claim your expert and you become the therapist you always wanted to be.
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