339 - The Truth About Niching Down - With Chris Do

Summary

Summary of "The Truth About Niching Down" - Episode 339

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Futur with Chris Do
• Host: Chris Do, CEO of The Futur
• Episode: 339 - The Truth About Niching Down
• Release Date: April 9, 2025

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In Episode 339 of The Futur Podcast, host Chris Do delves deep into the concept of "niching down" and its pivotal role in achieving sustained success in design, marketing, and business. Through candid discussions, Chris elucidates why focusing on a specific niche is more beneficial than attempting to emulate the versatile success stories of high-profile individuals like Post Malone. This episode serves as a comprehensive guide for creatives and entrepreneurs aiming to build a robust foundation before expanding their horizons.

1. The Importance of Niching Down

Chris Do opens the conversation by addressing a common misconception: "The mistake would be to copy someone's ending when you're not studying their beginning, because you're at the beginning again" (00:00). He emphasizes that aspiring professionals often make the error of mimicking the visible successes of established figures without understanding the foundational work that led to those achievements.

2. The Pitfall of Copying Success Endpoints

Using Post Malone as an exemplar, Chris explains why attempting to replicate the multifaceted success of such artists is unrealistic for most individuals. "The mistake that most people make is they copy someone's ending versus their beginning" (00:00). He points out that unlike versatile artists who have already navigated diverse genres, most are still in the nascent stages of their careers, building their craft and expertise.

3. Building Your Own Foundation

Chris underscores the significance of "putting in all this time and starting to refine your craft" before gaining public recognition (00:00). He advises listeners to focus on developing their skills and understanding their unique voice rather than seeking immediate diversification. "The unfortunate thing is we just want what they have right now" (00:00)—a mindset that can lead to premature and unfocused efforts.

4. The T-Scale and Pie Scale of Expertise

Introducing the concepts of the T-scale and Pie-scale, Chris differentiates between depth and breadth of knowledge. "You don't want to go a mile wide and an inch deep. You want to go an inch wide and a mile deep" (03:35). He explains that while the T-scale represents deep expertise in one area, the Pie-scale allows for multiple columns of expertise, similar to the mathematical symbol π, enabling a broader yet still focused skill set. However, achieving multiple columns requires significant time and dedication.

5. Consistency in Social Media

Addressing the digital landscape, Chris draws parallels between personal branding and business models like restaurants and magazines. "The people who have grown really fast on social media have figured out a format who consistently show up and do the same thing again and again and again" (03:35). He warns against inconsistent content, stating, "if I followed you for tips on cooking and you start showing me gardening, I may not like that" (03:35). Consistency helps in building a loyal audience and establishing authority within a niche.

6. Analogies and Examples

Through relatable analogies, Chris reinforces the necessity of niching down:

• Restaurants: Consumers prefer establishments that excel in specific cuisines rather than offering mediocre options across the board.
• Department Stores: Successful stores focus on a particular price point or product category to attract their target demographic.
• Magazines: Leading publications concentrate on specific topics to become the definitive source within their niche.

"You want the restaurant that makes something really well, not a lot of things mediocre" (03:35) encapsulates his viewpoint on specialization leading to excellence.

7. Conclusion and Takeaways

Chris concludes by reaffirming that while diversification can be tempting, especially after achieving a certain level of success, it is essential to first establish mastery in a specific area. "Unless you are financially independent or you're well financed, you don't do that. You can't compete on that level. Not yet" (00:00). He encourages listeners to build a solid foundation, understand their unique strengths, and then consider expanding their expertise.

Key Takeaways:

• Start with Mastery: Focus on becoming exceptionally good in one area before diversifying.
• Understand the Journey: Recognize that success stories involve extensive behind-the-scenes effort.
• Consistency Builds Trust: Maintain a consistent presence and message to cultivate a loyal audience.
• Strategic Expansion: Once mastery is achieved, consider carefully expanding your skill set without diluting your brand.

By emphasizing the importance of niching down, Chris Do provides invaluable insights for creatives and entrepreneurs seeking to navigate the complexities of building a successful and sustainable career.

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Notable Quotes:

• Chris Do [00:00]:

  "The mistake would be to copy someone's ending when you're not studying their beginning, because you're at the beginning again."

• Chris Do [03:35]:

  "The people who have grown really fast on social media have figured out a format who consistently show up and do the same thing again and again and again."

• Chris Do [03:35]:

  "You don't want to go a mile wide and an inch deep. You want to go an inch wide and a mile deep."

• Chris Do [00:00]:

  "Unless you are financially independent or you're well financed, you don't do that. You can't compete on that level. Not yet."

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This summary captures the essence of Episode 339 - "The Truth About Niching Down" by distilling key discussions, insights, and practical advice shared by Chris Do. It provides a comprehensive overview for listeners and serves as a valuable resource for those seeking to enhance their understanding of effective business strategies through niching down.

Transcript

[Chris Do]

The mistake would be to copy someone's ending when you're not studying their beginning, because you're at the beginning again, this monster rears its ugly head. Should I need, shouldn't I? Aren't there more examples of super hyper successful people who aren't locked into a niche that are doing really well? And why are you, Chris, telling us we need to niche down? Let's take for example, Post Malone. He's had a really interesting career arc and who knows where he's going to go next. He first started out with rock, which I didn't even know about, and then he went into hip hop and now he's doing country and he's dominating every category. This man, this creative human being, has such versatility and a breadth of work and styles that we kind of admire it and we see it for like, this ability to blend so many different things. The mistake that you would make is you're not Post Malone, you're not the weeknd. You're not 21 pilots. You can't be jumping genres and mixing things up. And if you are, you won't be watching this channel because you're already rich and famous and you have all the options in the world. That was just a joke, by the way. The mistake that most people make is is they copy someone's ending versus their beginning. Just let that sink in. There's a long period of time when Post Malone or the Weeknd are doing their thing before anyone even hears about them. They could be in a basement working on some music playing or DJing for a wedding or a birthday party. We don't know. So they put in all this time and they start to refine their craft. We only become aware of them when they become famous. And depending on where you are on the adoption scale, it could be you're a laggard. You only find out after the fact that everybody's on it and you're last to do it. Like Facebook. Oh my God, Facebook's so hot. You know, 20 years later, that's the person you are. So the mistake would be to copy someone's ending when you're not studying their beginning. Cause you're at the beginning. So Jim Roden said, this success does leave clues. The unfortunate thing is we just want what they have right now. So if you take me for example, you're like, oh, yeah, Chris is going to not work for clients. He's going to speak about a broad number of subjects, and he's got two buildings and he has a team of people working for him. Why don't you try and copy that? What's the problem there? You don't have the resources, you don't have the experience. You haven't read the books, you haven't done the work with the clients that I'm going to be able to draw on. You haven't been coached. You haven't seen a therapist, you haven't done all the work. And you're going to go out to buy what buildings now with what money, with what resources? So you can't compete on that level. Not yet. Unless you are financially independent or you're well financed, you don't do that. And the reason why you're not getting that money right now is because you haven't done it. Because no one's going to bet on you. Right now.

[Rebecca]

It's time for a quick break, but we'll be right back.

[Chris Do]

Enjoying the conversation you're listening to right now. You're going to love what we have for you inside the Future Pro membership. From live group calls with myself and vetted guest experts to over 600 hours of pro exclusive trainings and monthly networking, you'll have everything you need to fast track your growth. Check it [e-mail] pro.

[Rebecca]

And Rebecca, welcome back to our conversation.

[Chris Do]

So you start, guess where you start at the start. You take that first step and you start to figure out who you are, what your voice is in the world. And you start to put in the intentional practice to be good at something and eventually get so good at it becomes so second nature to you that it seems boring and you need a new challenge. That's when you start to incorporate different genres, different styles, different expressions of your creativity. Maybe you're working in tv, now you work in film. Maybe you're working in Broadway and now you're working on pop albums. We don't know. And you can do that. Once you achieve some level of mastery and you compound the skill set versus being very, very thin in terms of your depth of knowledge. There's an expression. You don't want to go a mile wide and an inch deep. You want to go an inch wide and a mile deep, then what happens is you have this thing called the T scale. What's fascinating is I've discovered this recently is you can have a T, but if you add another column of expertise that's called the pie scale, like the math symbol PI, and you can do the multiple columns, one where, I don't know what you call that, they call it the Parthenon, where you have a bunch of columns and you have a roof that's super interesting, but that takes a long time to achieve. Let me translate this into how it might live on a social feed. I don't know about you. When I follow someone, it's because they've given me something that I think I need to pay attention to. I want to be able to reference later. And then every once in a while on my feed I see this random weird thing, right? And I have friends who do this and I'm about that far away from unfollowing them because I'm like, what the hell is this? Then I'm like, who is this person? I look them up like, oh yeah, they promised me this and now they're giving me that. I don't want any of that. I just want this. You want more of the same. The people who have grown really fast on social media have figured out a format who consistently show up and do the same thing again and again and again. This seems illogical to me to find success at something and then not to do it anymore. It doesn't make any sense. And very few people get away with the I'm going to post and talk about lots of different things because of who they are, how they built up their fan base and how they consistently continue to grow. And you have to run this risk. And if you're willing to take the risk, go for it. Which is you'll gain new followers, but you'll lose a lot of followers too. And if that doesn't matter to you, do whatever the heck you want. And God bless you, be happy. And that's all social media can be for you. And that's totally fine. But I'm telling you right now, if I followed you for tips on cooking and you start showing me gardening, I may not like that. If you show me things on gardening and you start to do fashion, I'm going to follow people who are very good at something because they're going to show me the very best. So when your feed gets kind of junked up with other things that don't belong, chances are people are going to follow you. And you can see this played out in many different ways. When you go to a restaurant, you want the restaurant that makes something really. Well, not a lot of things mediocre. Well, when you go to a department store, you want to know it's selling me clothes at a certain price point. Not ultra high end premium luxury goods and also discount goods. It doesn't work that way. And if you go to the store to buy a magazine, most magazines if you still read magazines, focus on one very specific topic and they go as deep as possible because they want to be the de facto standard in their space, not just one of many.

[Rebecca]

Thanks for joining us. If you haven't already, subscribe to our show on your favorite podcasting app and get new insightful episodes from us every week. The Future Podcast podcast is hosted by Chris do and produced and edited by Rich Cardona Media. Thank you to Adam Sanborn for our intro music. If you enjoyed this episode, then do us a favor by reviewing and rating our show on Apple Podcasts. It will help us grow the show and make future episodes that much better. If you'd like to support the show and invest in yourself while you're at it, visit thefuture.com and you'll find video courses, digital products, and a bunch of helpful resources about design and the creative business. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time.