The tale of Alice in Wonderland was penned by Lewis Carroll some 150 years ago.
Bored little Alice follows the White Rabbit down a rabbit hole, and comes face-to-face with adventure. They encounter locked doors, gardens, secret keyholes, and of course, the Cheshire Cat.
For the past 150 years, the expression, “we went down a rabbit hole” translates to being distracted or wandering aimlessly down an unplanned path.
It’s especially true with the vast amount of information that’s available to us on the Internet. It doesn’t take much to get lost in the rabbit hole known as Google. The maze of links and related topics are fascinating, yet they can make all of us feel like we have attention deficit disorder.
The roadmap to the niche
Is the proverbial rabbit hole such a bad place? Often, we find ourselves pondering, “How did I even get here?” It usually takes some backtracking to recall the purpose of the original search. When we think about the amount of time that’s been pilfered away, frustration sets in.
Social media has served as a keen reminder to business professionals to stay focused on the needs of their target audiences. Author and marketing expert Seth Godin says, “Don’t scream to the masses; whisper to a few.”
In business, whispering to the few is the rabbit hole. It’s not a time warp or a place of distraction. It’s quite the opposite.
The rabbit hole is the niche.
The rabbit hole can be a place of abundance because it forces us to identify our target audience’s needs and challenges. But more importantly, working in the rabbit hole demands that you craft and create solutions for those in the smallest tip of the funnel who need—and can afford—to pay you.
Opportunities lie within this crevice.
Going my way?
The rabbit hole is the vertical within a vertical that’s within a vertical.
It’s the deep niche that differentiates you from competitors. Opportunity presents itself because you know where you fit in within the niche. You’ve researched, studied, learned, and made mistakes. You’re entrenched in this narrow pinpoint that offers opportunities most will never experience or understand.
The rabbit hole represents a fine balance of comfort and curiosity. You don’t feel trapped or bored with “cabin fever” for one reason: You have a true sense of deep and wondrous curiosity within what appears to be a tiny place. It keeps you intrigued rather than yearning to escape.
The rabbit hole where successful people dwell is the niche, the sweet spot, the vertical, the real differentiator. We must view the rabbit hole as the golden place to reach, a space that has doors of opportunity awaiting us. It’s a vast niche.
Don’t think of the doomed rabbit hole as the wasteland that pulls us off task. Instead consider the rabbit hole the specialized knowledge and expertise that you have that’s missing in the marketplace.