Stop trying to find your niche. Find your mission instead.
It’s time to get clear on your mission if you haven’t yet. This is part 1 of my Mission Clarity Series.
I used to tell people to find their niche. Back in my consultancy days, I gave this advice to my corporate clients frequently. And for some businesses, it works. But if you’re a multi-talented creative?
It probably drives you a little crazy.
Here’s the thing: if you’re a multi-talented creative freelancer or solopreneur, it’s likely you’ve been stuck thinking about your niche once or twice – or, who are we kidding, maybe your entire career.
One week you’re inspired to help mothers, another week it’s female leaders, third week you’re wondering whether your niche should really be people working in wellness and spirituality.
And honestly, that’s still pretty broad. Traditional advice says you need to go even deeper until you and your niche feel like you’re literally inside their brain.
Now, all of this works if you’re then willing to push heavy on this niche.
You stick with it, you keep addressing the same pain points, you show up over and over again to tell them: I understand exactly what you need.
When you build a business or project around real people’s genuine needs, it typically works.
The problem? This type of approach rarely fits the creative generalist brain.
You (and by you, I mean we) get bored.
Here’s the truth: building a business around one narrow niche requires a specialist brain. You need to be fascinated by the same problem, the same audience, the same solution—for years.
But generalists with multiple passions? We’re wired differently.
Just when you commit to one niche, your brain lights up with another possibility. And then, you wonder, oh shit, did I make the wrong choice. The worst thing that can happen is that you freeze and stop altogether.
So, if you’re just not able to follow this advice, I don’t blame you.
You need something a bit more flexible to keep you focused.
Why is a mission important for creative generalist types?
For the sake of this exercise, let go of the need to find your niche.
Instead, ask yourself: what type of change am I looking to create for people?
Let me show you what this looks like in practice:
For example, let’s say you’re an artist thinking about launching an online course, and you get stuck thinking: Who is this for? Maybe, the question you should be asking yourself is really: What is the bigger mission I’m working for and how is this online course supporting it?
Or, you’re a freelancer who does a bit of b2b communications consulting, a bit of writing and a bit of social media content production. You feel scattered and uninspired, and maybe you’re not making enough money. You think the problem is that you’re not attracting the right clients, aka haven’t found your niche.
But what if you ask yourself: Where am I trying to take my clients? What is the true value of communications for them and for me? What would I like it to be?
You might find that you’re not working for viral social media posts or excellent copy, but you’re really all about creating a sense of connection. You want to help your clients understand and connect with their clients on a deeper level.
So now, your past ‘random’ projects start to make sense in a new way. And your future isn’t limited to ‘freelance writer’. You could facilitate conversations, build communities, and host events for entirely different audiences. All while serving the same mission.
All of a sudden, you’re not trapped by your past projects but you’re helping your clients connect in new and interesting ways.
So, a mission is important because it gives you the focus that other people need to understand who you are and what you stand for but allows for enough flexibility to keep learning and reinventing yourself.
Mission Clarity Part 1: What change do you want to see?
Your mission often lives at the intersection of what pisses you off and what makes you hopeful. So start by digging into your emotional landscape and understanding what gives you feelings.
What problems in the world make you genuinely angry or sad?
Not “what should bother me” but what actually gets under your skin
What do you rant about to your friends?
Which news stories make you write manifestos on social media?
NOTE: There could be a few, so just let them all out for now.
If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about how the world works, what would it be?
Not your personal life—something systemic or cultural. Something like how people treat each other, how we organise society, or what we value.
What are you for and against?
If you had to describe yourself in the context of any of the above, what would you say you’re for and what would you say you’re against?
Next: Wrap it in a sentence
Complete this sentence: “I want to live in a world where __________”
If you have several visions for the world, write each of them in a separate sentence. However, only write the ones that truly make you feel something.
Examples:
“...divided communities can find common ground”
“...young people see themselves as changemakers”
“...nature is thriving”
These are the seeds for your mission. You might have ended up with several sentences and ideas that all feel equally important. That’s okay for now.
In the next part of this series, we’ll explore how you connect yourself and your skills to this change. This part will help you choose which one(s) you want to pursue professionally.
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Keen to go deeper with this work?
These questions are a great starting point for your mission discovery, but I know that sometimes we need to be seen through someone else’s eyes to find the right words to describe our unique perspective.
I work with multi-talented people to clarify their mission and build the presence to spread it—from your website messaging to your speaker profile to your outreach strategy.
If you’re looking for the mission that ties all your different skills together AND contributes to a bigger change in the world, we should talk. Drop me an email and tell me about your situation and we’ll see if we might be the right match for each other.