Happy Birthday to My Most Important Niche

Dear Erin,

Happy Birthday!!! To both you AND this blog!

A year ago today, I set out to formalize some of the many conversations we have about the business of running a nonprofit.  I remember pressing “publish” on that very first blog post with not just a little bit of anxiety and imposter syndrome.

But here we are, post number 30. You could measure that against the actual number of conversations we’ve had this year - had to be over a hundred, way more than I captured in writing - or you could measure that against how many I had one year ago. None. So by that measure, I’m doing pretty well!

(And let’s not forget ChatGPT’s admonition that I should only be posting once a month lest I start to sound like a nagging mom bothering her daughter. So yeah, 30 is quite a bit more than the recommended 12. Too much?  LOL)

How was I able to sustain this 2023 NYE resolution? You.

Once I clarified my audience, the writing came much more easily and I was able to keep this going. The fear of putting something out there for THE WHOLE WORLD overwhelmed me for years. What if… no one likes it? No one reads it? No one thinks I have anything useful to say? Taking on the whole world is a pretty big ask. And completely unnecessary.

It is liberating to release yourself from the shackles of “everyone.” The world is full of niche markets - discreet, defined groups of people unified around a common interest or belief. Your product, whatever that may be, need only appeal to a niche, however big or small. That’s where your work will resonate. That’s where your work will have impact.

Who knows - maybe your niche will expand over time. But that’s not the purpose, and certainly not the starting point.

So thank you for being my “niche market.” You’ve inspired me to keep it going, even if you are the only one reading this…which, of course, is all I asked for!

And to you, Happy Birthday, my lovely and talented nonprofit executive daughter!!

Love, Mom