Do Solopreneurs Need a Niche to Succeed?

Short answer: Almost always, yes.

Better answer: If you want to be noticed, remembered, and hired, you need to be known for something. Not everything. Not “business growth.” Something specific.

Let’s unpack why.

Why Is Niching Important for Solopreneurs?

Because we don’t live in a skills economy anymore.

We live in an attention economy.

And in an attention economy, the biggest risk isn’t choosing a niche that’s too small; it’s going so broad that nobody realizes you’re talking to them at all.

The fastest way to stay anonymous?

1. Be generic and unfocused

Say things like:

• “I help businesses grow”

• “I’m a coach for high performers”

• “I help companies scale”

These sound broad enough to catch everyone, but they actually resonate with no one. If they don’t know you exist, they can’t hire you.

2. Talk about yourself, not their problem

Stacking credentials, flexing experience, and listing clients doesn't land when your reader can’t see their story in your offer.

3. Niche halfway and pretend it counts

“I help executives navigate change”

“I support SaaS businesses to scale”

Okay... which executives? What kind of change? Scale what, Annual Recurring Revenue? Churn? Team headcount? These messages are vague and safe, which is why they don’t convert.

How Can Solopreneurs Choose a Niche?

Start by getting painfully specific. Uncomfortably specific.

Step 1: Choose the pain point you solve.

Examples:

•    B2B: I create airtight employee manuals that prevent lawsuits.

•    B2C: I eliminate problem behaviors in dogs.

Step 2: Define exactly who it’s for.

Examples:

•    B2B: I do this for manufacturing companies with under 50 employees.

•    B2C: I help people with large dogs in the Urbana-Champaign area.

Step 3: Say how you do it.

Examples:

•    B2B: I use my “Seven-Step Legal Clarity Method” to build employee manuals for manufacturing companies.

•    B2C: I use positive-only methods and focus on training the owners.

What Happens If You Don’t Niche?

You get lost in the noise.

Let’s be blunt:

•    A site that says John Smith Coaching will be ignored.

•    A site that says Career Navigation for Midlife Engineers Burned Out by Tech will get clicks, and probably clients.

Anonymity isn’t caused by being bad at what you do.

It’s caused by making it too hard for the right people to recognize themselves in your offer.

Can I Broaden My Niche Later?

Absolutely. In fact, you probably will.

The point of niching isn’t to lock yourself in a box, it’s to build momentum. You niche to get traction, visibility, and proof.

Once you have clients, referrals, and results? You can expand. But if you start broad, you might never start at all.

TL;DR

Solopreneurs almost always need a niche.

Not because you should limit your options, but because it creates clarity.

And clarity gets clients.