27: How I Grew My Brand Without Just Picking ONE Niche (And You Can, Too)

Feeling boxed in by the pressure to “niche down” when you’re multi-passionate? You’re not alone. In this episode of The Creative Bodega, we’re busting one of the biggest myths in online business: that you have to pick one super-specific niche to grow. Spoiler alert—you don’t.

Instead, I’m sharing how I built a cohesive, profitable brand around multiple passions and how you can do the same. If you’ve ever felt uninspired or creatively stifled by niche advice, this episode is your permission slip to zoom out, stay aligned, and build a brand that actually feels like you.

🔗 Check out the full show notes for this episode.

Things I cover inside the episode:
✨ Why you don’t need a hyper-narrow niche to build a strong brand
✨ The myth that multi-passionate = confusing (and what’s actually true)
✨ How to find your “umbrella” theme that ties all your passions together
✨ My favorite way to stay consistent without burning out
✨ 3 action steps for building a focused brand that still gives you freedom

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
🎙️ Episode 12: Feeling Stuck on What to Post? 5 Steps to Defining Your Content Pillars

Connect with me:
🫶🏼 Follow me on Instagram for daily insights
🫶🏼 Join my 321 Create Newsletter for weekly content tips
🫶🏼 Check out The Content Coven Membership

Be sure to hit "Subscribe" or "Follow" so you never miss an episode!

Transcript

0:00

Being a multi-passionate solopreneur is not a weakness, and you don't have to niche so far down that you feel completely pigeonholed and uninspired. It's a real strength when you can build your brand with very clear intentions. You don't need to niche into some one tiny little lane to be successful. You just need clarity, consistency, and the confidence to build your own path and trust in yourself to build that path. Welcome to the Creative Bodega, a podcast about content marketing, Instagram growth, and personal branding for female service-based solopreneurs who wanna grow their business without letting it take over their lives. I'm your host, EM Connors, and each week I'll share actionable tips, expert advice, and unfiltered truths to help you create engaging content, connect authentically with your audience and turn followers into loyal customers, all without the burnout. If you're ready to simplify your content creation, navigate the ever changing trends and build a business that works for you while staying sane in this. Crazy season of life, then you're in the right place. Oh my gosh, y'all. I am on a podcast tear. I am over here trying to record three to four podcasts today. I recorded my first one. It disappeared. Which is not the first time that's happened. It's horrifying. And, and then I rerecorded it because I had to, and now I'm on number two, so technically I'm on like my third POS pod. Here we go. My words are gonna start to get jumbled. I'm on my third podcast of the day and I wanna welcome you back to the Creative Bodega. Um, today we are busting one of the biggest myths, I think in online business. In the online business space. And it's one I know you've heard. You have to pick one niche if you're gonna grow, you have to pick one niche if you're gonna grow. Does that sound familiar to anybody? Raise your hand for me. Not that I can see you, but it's advice that has been repeated so many times. It feels like an like an absolute rule, like you're a failure if you can't figure out what that niche is. And by the way, side tangent, it's niche. It's not niche. I just joined an online course. And the woman in it keeps saying niche and I'm dying, and I like literally can't watch it. It's niche. It's a French word. I've had my French friends absolutely confirm it's niche, so yes. Okay. Anyways, what if I told you you didn't have to follow that rule? And you could still build a successful business and a cohesive brand. Wouldn't that be like kind of freeing? In this episode, I wanna share how I grew without choosing one niche and how I think you can. So again, the myth. If you're not laser focused on one niche, your brand is going to confuse people. And the whole idea behind this is if you talk about too many things, your audience not gonna, they're not gonna know what you do. Or if your brand isn't ultra specific and drill down, you're not gonna attract the right people. And worst of all, if you're multi-passionate, which hello so many of us entrepreneurs, are you, you're not gonna be taken seriously. So that's the myth, right? And why does this myth exist? Honestly, it is rooted in some truth. I don't wanna sit here and be like, there's absolutely no truth to this. If you are speaking to everyone, you're probably speaking to no one. And so, yes, clear messaging is absolutely gonna help you stand out in saturated markets. So for me and my line of work and who I see to be in saturated markets, virtual assistants. Nutrition coaches, fitness coaches. I feel like those are the three like really big ones, leadership coaches, and if you're over there like, oh no, that's me. Yeah, you're definitely gonna need some clear messaging and some really clear ideal client avatar work to figure out exactly who you're talking to. But somewhere along the way, I feel like that advice got twisted into. You can only talk about one thing forever. You can only be known for one thing forever. And that's where the multi-passionate entrepreneurs like me, like you start to feel really boxed in and stuck and like creatively stifled. And that's not what I want. So let's like debunk this myth. Okay. Here's what actually happened in my business when I first started. I absolutely, like you probably did, felt really pressured to pick one topic, one niche. People said things like, only talk about Canva, that you should be the Canva go-to or be the systems girl, like the content creation systems girl. And some people said you should just focus on branding. You love branding, talk about the colors, the fonts, the templates, what they look like, all that. And then they said, just pick one offer and stick with it, you know? And I was like, well, that sounds really good. That sounds really good. But then when I start really getting into it. There was too much that I loved and there's too much that I wanted to talk about, and I knew too much about a lot of things that I wanted to share, and I knew that it was just all these different subcategories of work that I had done in my own business to get to where I am. So I couldn't just be branding. I couldn't just be Canva, just be systems, content, email, mindset. I loved all of it, and the thought of picking one made me feel really uninspired. So. I didn't. So instead of like shrinking down, I, I started zooming out and I asked, what's the bigger umbrella that these passions fall under? And for me, that was marketing. And that shift changed everything. I stopped forcing myself. Into a single niche of, of an area that I loved, and instead I created a cohesive, multi-passionate brand about content marketing for female solopreneurs and, and female solopreneurs. That's me trying to niche down. I will tell you, people get really scared. That's me like drilling down on my ideal client. That is, I could even throw in another word in there. I could say female service-based solopreneurs. So you provide a service and you know what, I could take that even further. I could say female service-based online solopreneurs if I really wanted to. But guess what? Even if I did do that, like I still attract men, believe it or not, there are men that DM me. Will you work with me? Can I join the coven? I, I know I'm not your ideal client, but I really like your vibe. I like your consistency. I like how you're showing up and I wanna learn from you. And I say, of course. Of course you can join. And it, and then I've had people join who have businesses with multiple employees. They're not solopreneurs. Right. They're not the only one working on their business and they say, listen, I have a team. Can I still sign? Of course you can. So even if you do drill down, let's say you're a photographer and you're like, I'm going to really focus on family photography. If you are good and somebody likes your style, you better believe they're still gonna reach out and say, I know you do families, but could you take my brand photos for me? Or Could you take pictures of my house? Like I'm putting it up for sale. People are gonna come to you if they respect what you're doing and they like how you're showing up no matter what. So I don't want you to think that niching down is going to turn anyone away because it really won't. I think it'll attract more people than it'll turn away. But guess what? My audience got it. My content stayed focused, my business still grew, and I had way more fun creating it all by being able to talk about everything that lit me up. And here's what I always told myself. Don't talk about something if I don't want to be known for it. So like people are like, oh, can you do like a ManyChat tutorial? And I'm like, meh. Because guess what? I don't want people coming to me with questions about ManyChat. I'm not your tech ManyChat girl. Like I literally use it in the most basic way. So I'm not gonna talk about that or put content out about that. If I'm not open and willing to accepting questions about it, and that's my sort of like temperature gauge. I think about if some, if a lot of people start DMing me about this, is it gonna bother me? Am I gonna get annoyed? Or is it gonna light me up? So if people DM me and they wanna show me their colors, or they wanna talk about a problem with their content, or they wanna know what, you know, where I'm scheduling my content, whatever, like I get so pumped to share or any type of Canva question, I'm like, oh my gosh, bring it. Like, what's your question?'cause I guarantee somebody else has it and now I can make a piece of content about it. But if it's something that's gonna make me be like, Ugh, I don't know, go ask somebody else. Well, for me, that'd be MEChA or really any like technical question about. Maybe podcasting or like, I'm not a tech girl. I, I, that part doesn't light me up. Figuring out what to talk about on your podcast, uh, showing up in a way that feels comfortable getting consistent with recording your podcast. I'm there for it. I am so there for that. But the whole, like, where do I set up, you know, where do I stream it? But I, I, I, I don't know. I, I literally don't know. That's not the part I love. So. An alternate view. You don't need a narrower niche, you just need a clearer structure. So what helps me build a focused brand without just picking one niche is these three things. I defined my content pillars really clearly. These are the three to five really big topics that I cycle through, like content strategy, Canva, design and branding systems and consistency, email marketing. Mindset, like those are areas I absolutely love. And again, they all fall under this umbrella of content marketing. They're all relevant to the same type of client that I'm obsessed with helping. Right. Number two, I stayed obsessively clear with who I was serving. So rather than getting so niche down, like somebody once was like, I just wanna talk about creating digital products in Canva. And I'm like, oof. That's like really specific. Like I think you're gonna run out of ideas, to be honest. I mean, listen, if you can talk about that for days on end without stopping and it doesn't bore you, you do you, but I would feel very suffocated and bored talking about. Only one product that you can make in Canva. So Canva's already quite specific. Right? So, and that's what I told her. I said, listen, you already got Canva in there. Like that in and of itself is a pretty clear, specific niche. I don't think you need to then take it a step further and drill down on the type of product you're making in Canva. So. Anyways, I got really obsessively clear about who I serve. My ideal client is a service-based solopreneur that's been in business for one or two years. They're not brand new. I am not here to help somebody figure out what their passions are. It's not, I, I have no idea. I, I, I, mine was so clear to me what I wanted to teach. Like, I don't know how to help people find that. Um, there's other people out there that can do that, but that's not me. I want you to have an established business. I want you to know some tech. Again, I'm not, I don't love tech. I know you probably laugh'cause I'm like the Canva, Instagram queen, but I don't really love the tech part of it. I don't want someone who's coming to me who's never opened to Canva or they have no idea how to use Instagram. It's just, I, I get, oh, I feel like I'm talking to my mom and then I get really annoyed. So I, I need someone who have a base of knowledge. And so I don't talk about the basics. I don't talk about how to get started with Canva. I don't talk about how to. Set up an account in Instagram because those aren't the people that I want. I want the people that are already using both, but they wanna use it a lot better, and they wanna take their designs to the next level, or their workflow to the next level, or their Instagram presence to the next level. So knowing who to speak to makes everything really cohesive for me, even if I talk about multiple topics. Last but not least three, I gave myself permission to show my personality. So your niche. Isn't just about what you do, it's about how you do it. And you've probably heard the term like you are the niche, like you the person, right? And I agree with that to some extent, but the people connect with you. It's not just your tips, it's how you teach it. It's what you're teaching, it's the style that you're teaching it. It's the consistency in which it's the platforms that you're showing up on, like. I really gave myself permission to show my personality unabashedly, and that attracts my ideal person. Without a doubt. These kind, driven, thoughtful, creative women come to me. I almost said flock To me that's so aggressive, but I. You know, I have 200 plus women in my membership, and they're all incredible people, and they're just a joy to work with. And the people that aren't, they weed themselves out, right? The people who need constant handholding or aren't taking action, they weed themselves out. I don't even have to ask them to leave proof that it works. I'm like, since embracing a broader brand or you know, a, a, a broader niche, I've seen more aligned clients show up. And every program that goes by that's live, or every member that joins the coven, I swear to God, they're getting more and more aligned. It's incredible. My content feels easier and more fun to create when I'm able to talk about things that I love. Again, the temperature gauge. Would I mind if multiple people DMed me about a topic? If the answer is yes, it would bother me. Don't talk about it em. And when people reach out to me and they say, can you talk about this? I have to be honest and I'll say, no. Because I don't want to be known as the ManyChat expert. Like I, I'm not your girl. I, I, I'm not gonna be able to help you. Or even if I can, it's not gonna light me up, so I'm not gonna do it to myself. And people always respect that. They're like, all right, that's fair. That's fair. Right? I post more consistently'cause I love what I'm talking about. And I've experienced really steady growth both with my email list and on Instagram, and I haven't burned out. That's probably the most important one. Because I'm talking about a various group of topics that all light me up and that I all like, I think are all really important to growing your brand.'cause they've been really important to growing my brand. I don't burn out and, and I, I still love what I do after three and a half, you know, so years of doing it, so. That's what we're after, right? Like a business that grows and feels really good. So, three action steps for you to try. If you are a multi-passionate solopreneur like me who feels stuck about the concept of niching down, try this. Instead, I'd like you to create your three to five content pillars, topics that you love, that fall under a shared theme. So I am not over here talking about, I always use the same example. I'm not over here talking about how to tie dye skirts. Okay, that's not marketing. I can put that in my stories. I can put that behind the scenes. I can maybe include that in a newsletter, maybe like in the things I'm loving, if I got a kit that I really love, but I am not showing up on my feed when I wanna be known as a content creation, Canva, uh, email marketing expert and talking about how to tie dye skirts. Okay? So we're not trying to confuse people. There is an episode, I will link it all about the five steps to finding your content pillars. So I remind, remind me to put that in the show notes. No, I will remind myself. Thank you very much. Step number two, get crystal clear on your ideal client. I think that is less than niching down. It's really getting clear about who you serve, where are they in their journey, right? I said I don't like to work with people who are just starting out the brand nubs. People like my mom who like isn't really tech savvy. She has no idea how to upload a story or like whatever, like I'm not here to teach those basics. I like the people who are one to two years into their journey. They're already using Canva, they're already using Instagram. They just need to level up and get really clear what are they struggling with. How do you help them solve that problem through the various topics that you want to be known for? And step number three, really use stories and emails to share those extras, those things that are, you're having fun with, tie ding a skirt. Sure, that's fun. I don't know. But not everything has to go in your feed and that shouldn't, or maybe you have like a phenomenal cookie recipe that like everyone should know about. Eh, I wouldn't make a reel on that, to be honest. I'd put that in your stories or I'd put that in your newsletter. Okay. Not everything has to go in your feed, your stories, your newsletter, they're the perfect place for those kind of random, not totally on brand content that will build connection. So let's wrap this up. Being a multi-passionate. Solopreneur is not a weakness, and you don't have to niche so far down that you feel completely pigeonholed and uninspired. It's a real strength when you can build your brand with very clear intentions. You don't need to niche into some one tiny little lane to be successful. You just need clarity, consistency, and the confidence to build your own path and trust in yourself to build that path. If this episode gave you any light bulb moments, I wanna hear about it. I want you to DM me. I also will say that if you feel like this resonated with you and you need some help niching down, or you need help coming up with your brand pillars, I have an extensive training in the content coven, my incredible membership, where there are 200 plus women all doing the damn thing, and they're lovely, they're creative, they're supportive. You're gonna post in there. And I'm not gonna be the only one to respond to you. They often know more than I do at this point. So I would love to invite you into that. I will put a link in the show notes, and if you want help mapping out your content pillars or defining your brand umbrella, absolutely. Head to the content coven. Uh, thanks for being here. I will see you on the next episode of the Creative Bodega Podcast. Thanks so much for hanging out with me on the Creative Bodega Podcast. If you love this episode, please be sure to share it with a fellow solopreneur. Who could use a little content creation inspiration. And hey, don't forget to check out the show notes for any resources I mentioned on the episode to help you create content that feels easy and actually gets you results. If you want even more Canva and content tips, head over to my website, the creative bodega.com, or find me on Instagram under the same name. Until next time, keep creating, keep showing up, and most importantly, try and have a little fun with your content. I'll see you on the next episode.