Chasing a niche is the premise for failure

Oct 13, 2022

Hello hello!

Welcome to the 43 new explorers that have joined The Maker Journey.

It means a lot 🙌

October 13th.

A quick look at the calendar. Gosh!

I'm sixteen days away from achieving a full year of showing up online. 349 consecutive days, as of today—the time it took me to come to an epiphany.

But one year ago was different. It was one of those days stumbling upon some experts' advice and feeling inadequate because I couldn't find my niche, as if defining it was only this easy.

I saw people find their purpose without trouble. And what about me?

I always felt niching down would mean leaving out my true self.

On days like this, I only wanted to lay down on the couch and start binge-watching on Netflix to get some temporary pleasure and soften the struggle.

And it was the same for the following months.

Mattia, how could people even follow you if you don't have a niche or know where you are going? — ruthlessly repeating to myself as an obsession.

What about shifting the focus to the journey instead?

I wanted to change that story.

While chasing the niche, I've got stuck in an endless vortex of procrastination and desperation.

There was too much noise in my head.

Do this, do that. F*** the niche!

What if, instead of a starting point, is a destination?

What if they are wrong?

Forget the niche in the early stages.

I don't need a niche to become a successful creator.

Today is a great day in Barcelona.

Comfortably sitting in a library, I look through the large windows and see the world outside. It doesn't seem like mid-October.

The sun is still high in the sky, and the sea breeze sways the green plane trees while two runners pass quickly down the street.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

No, I don't care about having a niche yet.

Experts have a strong bias on niching down.

I understand why, but there isn't a one-size-fits-all rule.

Experts tips out there forget that the golden goose of every content creator is not a call.

The niche finds us, not the opposite.

That's what I wished to know many, many months ago.

Listening to experts, I can't deal with how often I felt wrong.

A niche is a process that comes with discovery and iterations, with time; if it never comes, it's okay too.

A niche only shapes up when people recognize you for that.

I drafted a blueprint to stop feeding the noise:

Stop listening to experts to lower the pressure.
It's okay to feel lost and not have a niche.
Explore as many things as you like.

Let me know if you find it helpful!

"The only way to get clarity is to make decisions and see what is getting attention."
— Vineet Sinha

Build in Public Bites

Last week, I had a fantastic conversation with Eli Finer about finding a niche.

Mattia Righetti 🐙 @heymattia

Are you product-first or audience-first? Why?

Eli is product-first, focusing on the idea and then looking for an audience. I did it in the past and failed.

That’s why I’m audience-first now. With this approach, you look after people before even having an idea. Otherwise, you’re more likely to have a poor product-market fit and create something people might not want.

Are you of the same advice?