Welcome to episode 15 of Thanks For Thinking, the music business podcast focusing on self-reflection and proactivity for thoughtful music production professionals.
I’m your host, Carl Bahner.
Today’s topic: Your Personality Niche
Nish? Nitch? Neesh? Nitch? Nitch? Neesh?
I used to get nervous about even saying that word in public because I never knew how to pronounce it properly, but according to Meriam Webster, you can basically pronounce it however you want so if I switch back and forth unintentionally, I apologize in advance.
You’re not a true internet guru until you’ve coined a new marketing term, so I’m really, really, really hoping I’m not the first person to talk about having a “personality niche.”
So what the f*ck do I mean by “personality niche?”
Well, admittedly I don’t have an airtight definition quite yet. The closest I’ve got so far is: a group (or groups) of people with whom a creative service provider shares values, passions, and communication styles.
In short, it’s a subset of potential clients that we really get along with, in addition to the traditional stylistic niche or specialized service niche.
It’s something that I take seriously when I’m qualifying potential clients for my mixing and production business, and I take it VERY seriously when qualifying potential coaching students.
So, what do I look for? Am I asking them their astrological signs or making them take an enneagram test?
No. Do I have a specific framework that I use to figure out what my “personality niche” is?
No. But I can give you a couple of examples, and pose a few questions that may help you to find your own answers.
I’m sarcastic, and I love working with people who have a great sense of humor. I’m also self-deprecating, and I love it when my clients feel comfortable enough that we can make fun of each other when we say or do something dumb, and for me that happens pretty often. Playfully, of course.
I love working with people who are friendly and respectful, but aren’t afraid to stand up for themselves when they need to. I love working with people who are open to experimentation, and willing to be pleasantly surprised. I love working with people who are always trying to learn and better themselves. And I love working with people who value and appreciate how important it is to take care of our mental health.
None of these things are OBJECTIVELY good or bad, right or wrong. But I’d guess that since you’re listening to this podcast, then at least a few of those examples resonate with you.
Last week, I was talking with my intern Ethan about this, and he pointed out that it was a lot like dating, looking for a partner. Granted, that analogy breaks down unless you’re a polygamist who gets paid for being in those relationships, so let’s just ignore the deeper implications of that if you don’t mind.
But what he was getting at made sense - we may not be able to perfectly articulate what we look for in a potential partner (or a potential friend, for that matter), but we can agree that there are definitely attributes that attract us or repel us from wanting to pursue a relationship - or friendship - or client relationship - with that person.
I learned early in my career as a session drummer that there would always be a thousand other drummers who could play the song as well (or better) than me, but my ability to problem-solve and “be a good hang” was often as important, if not MORE important, than my drumming skills alone.
I’m sure you’ve met musicians, engineers, artists, etc. that may have been insanely skilled at their craft but a f*cking nightmare to work with. Maybe they’re bad at communication, don’t take criticism well, or like MANY musicians I’ve met over the years, focus too much on the technical and have no clue how to support a song.
So this idea of a “personality niche” and actively choosing to work with people that share your values and passions - it’s always been a thing. It’s just been predominantly a one-way street, with the client filtering out who they want to hire.
It’s a different world now than it was even 15 years ago when I graduated from college, and with all of the technological advances over the past few years especially, the ability to choose to work with people we like is no longer a one-way street. There’s an average of 60,000 new songs released on Spotify EVERY SINGLE DAY, and if your business is able to serve clients remotely… then you really can afford to be picky.
That picky-ness pays off. I’ve put my focus into finding clients that fit my stylistic niche AND personality niche, and in my experience, those people end up being the ones who find the most value in what I do. They find the most value in the perspectives I bring to the table, and the most value in the experience they have when working with me and my team.
But the biggest thing that I love about focusing on a personality niche is that it prevents burnout. I’ve mixed over 600 songs since the pandemic started just about two years ago, and I still wake up every day excited to mix. I’m excited to read texts from my clients. I’m excited to do outreach. I’m even excited to do revisions. Why? Because the people who hire me are cool as sh*t! I get along with them - and if I don’t get along with them, I won’t do any more projects with them. I’ll pass them to someone else that I think WOULD get along with them.
And doing follow-ups are easy when you really enjoy talking to people and genuinely mean it when you ask “how’ve you been?”
Find a comfortable spot without distractions. I’d like you to spend the next few minutes thinking about your own personality niche and the personality traits of your ideal clients.
Today’s reflection question is: what personality traits would my hypothetical ideal clients have?
Don’t worry about setting a timer - when the music stops, we’ll move on to today’s action item.
Once again, today’s reflection question is: what personality traits would my hypothetical ideal clients have?
I’ll be back in a few minutes.
If you need more time, hit pause and come back when you’re ready.
Maybe the answers were obvious, or maybe they were difficult to articulate. In either case, the following exercise is designed to help you to further refine your own “personality niche,” and equip you with some self-awareness to help you to avoid nightmare clients in the future.
To complete today’s action item, all you’ll need is a word processor or a pen and paper.
Today’s action item is: create two columns, one labeled “pursue” and the other labeled “avoid”. Write down the personality traits of your ideal clients under the “pursue” column, and write down the personality traits of your “nightmare clients” in the “avoid” column. Sounds simple, right? Well, try not to only include obvious answers.
Alright, time to get started. I’ll be back in a few minutes.
If you need more time, hit pause and come back when you’re ready.
Keep this page handy as you’re talking with potential clients, and be on the lookout for the traits you’ve listed. The goal isn’t to confirm that they are 100% a perfect match before taking on a project - think of it as making an educated guess.
Generally speaking, it’s easier to spot the nightmare clients early on, and it’s very important that you run for the hills when you see them coming. And sometimes, a client may start off seeming ideal, but as you get to know them, you realize your “educated guess” was wrong. My advice would be to finish the project, and then politely refer them to somebody else if they do come back asking to do another project.
One quick tip - if a new potential client inquires about doing a larger-scope project (like a full album production) I highly recommend quoting them for the full project, but suggesting a stipulation that you start with just one song. In those situations, I like to frame it as giving the client a “no harm, no foul” escape route if they weren’t happy with how the first song turned out, but ultimately it gives me a way out too if I end up realizing that I’m not the right fit. I haven’t had to do that many times, but in the few instances when I had to gracefully bow out of a project, they ended on good terms since it wasn’t a surprise.
Keep in mind the old saying “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Nothing leads to burnout and resentment faster than knowingly accepting a project with a returning nightmare client.
Avoiding clients with nightmare personality traits seems obvious, and if this episode was remotely effective, then pursuing clients with ideal personality traits should seem pretty obvious now, too.