If you missed part one of this post, originally posted HERE in 2009, you might want to start there and catch up. =) It’ll give you a bit of history, but today I want to talk more narrowly about defining and dominating your own “forest”… your own custom market within your industry.
When I first began “as a coach,” I was LOST. I knew what I loved, what I was good at, and the results my deceptively simple marketing strategies could generate for business owners. I also knew that I was competing with (and losing to) GIANTS in the industry. Actually, let me be real with you, at that time I was simply hoping to GET THE OPPORTUNITY to compete with them…. hoping for a chance at bat. I was the small fish hidden among countless competitors in a big, crowded pond.
Bottom line: I couldn’t come on the scene and immediately make a nation-wide impact. I had to CHOOSE my forest. The forest I’d call home. The forest I’d dominate and make my own. From there, I could branch out, expand my reach, increase my influence. But I had to start somewhere. Put another way, I had to get into a pond where I could grow, develop and become a big fish.
Initially, I began reaching out to other coaches who lived on the East Coast, but not within my own state. There’s a specific reason for that, but the point is that I DEFINED my forest. I drew the boundaries of where I’d play, and where I’d play to win. I ignored the rest of the world until I dug out a niche I could 1) get the attention of and 2) begin profiting in. ONLY after gaining a large foothold and making a good sized foot print THERE did I look to expand the boundaries of my forest.
If you are TODAY where I was THEN — competing with giants (and getting lost) within an overcrowded market — OPT OUT of that scene and narrowly define your own “forest,” your own custom-created market.
You do this by first DeFINING your market.
Next, you’ll want to get to know your new forest. Like Jaguar Paw in “part one” of this article, you’ll want to know the lay of the land… where the best resources are hidden.
Finally, you want to move quickly– to not only utilize resources there, but to create new ones for those already living, breathing and doing business within your narrowly defined niche. Essentially, once you define your forest, you want to set about making it better, more safe, with more resources. IN this way, you’ll quickly lay claim to that niche.
