Whenever we set off in our careers, many of us fall into the trap of trying to start or grow too many things simultaneously.
Let’s say, for example, that you are a personal trainer who wants to start a blog to help first time pregnant women through their first term. As you sit down to concept out your blog, all of a sudden you start adding in content for moms with multiple kids, video sections for all women, a contributor page for anyone interest in fitness on top of a podcast, daily journal, newsletter, and membership portal. You sit back, frustrated and overwhelmed and as a result you don’t do anything at all. Your original inspiration gets lost and is never launched.
Looking at a similar scenario from the client’s perspective; when I first got into photography I would take photos of anything I could to grow my career. Thus I would photograph families, buildings, events, headshots, fashion, glamour, photo journalism, still life products and more. Not only was it exhausting for me – but clients never were able to associate my name and work with anything.
In attempts to be a jack-of-all-trades, I became a master of none. My career took off when I niched my work to offer a primary service. One thing.
So what is your one thing? Can you take your idea, or your current business model and distill it down to a singular thing? Sometimes this requires taking a step back. But that one thing is what can and will propel you forward.
James Patrick
IG @jpatrickphoto
jamespatrick.com
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