Own Your Niche by Building a Niche Community (Pt. 1 of a 4-part series)

In 1997, David Steele was making the transition from a professional therapist to relationship coach. Part of his strategy was to become a center of influence and THE Relationship Coach for his community.

David decided to launch his own virtual community as a weekly “Friday Night Social” singles gathering. After a one-month pilot program and some market research, he designed a community for the singles in his area, unlike any other setting available, that would meet their need to meet other singles in a safe, fun setting.

The community also furthered David’s mission to provide relationship education and position his firm prominently within his target market.

Several years later, his Friday Night Social continues to be a vibrant singles community that supports the businesses of the four coaches who collaborated to make it happen.

“It is a lot of fun, and the time and effort needed to make it happen is minimal,” says David. Many attendees pick up his marketing packet--which features a picture of a happy couple basking in the sunlight.

“We feature a guest speaker each week, a local professional who speaks on topics like nutrition and stress management and who is usually a good referral source,” says Steele.

“We’ve become well-known in our community and have a loyal following of singles. On a typical Friday night, 25 to 40 people show up, and many people continue to attend with their partners when they are no longer single!”

From Therapist to Singles Guru of Silicon Valley

Slightly Famous entrepreneurs are learning that in today’s world, given that most of us have an unmet need for community, one of the greatest services you can offer your clients and prospects is simply to get them together.

The goodwill, contacts and status David has developed as a leader of a niche community has boosted his business. It has minimized the need to aggressively market his services by transforming into a guru and center of influence and trusted advisor to his target market.

Why does this work? There is a basic human need for community. We survive and thrive in relationships. In today’s world, given that most of us have an unmet need for community, one of the greatest services we can offer the clients and prospects in our niche is simply to get them together.

Next installment, Building a Niche Community: Targeting Your Niche with the Right Message