“That sounds great,” will you send me a proposal?

I paused and let sink in what should have been a cause for celebration.

“Sure thing. I’ll send it right over.

Truthfully, I wasn’t sure I wanted to do this gig. I had been approached by the friend of a colleague to do some marketing consulting. It was flattering to be asked, and I thought it could be a decent revenue stream. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it.

There were some red flags about the industry, with which I wasn’t very familiar. It also sounded like I would have to do some educating on my approach, which included regular content creation. I wasn’t sure how that would go over.

I pitched it anyway and got the contract. Great.

I contrasted that with another client where I knew I was in sync. I understood his business - the challenges and opportunities. We were also in sync on how we would work together. It got me excited to support this client and work with him on his business.

It made me wonder -- how do I get more of the clients that I connect with and avoid the ones where there is a gap?

Believe it or not, that’s where having a niche can be helpful.

If you feel misaligned with your business, the work you are doing, or the people you serve, you might need to narrow or adjust your niche.