Recipe #4: Recognizing Your Niche (The “Two Feet in the Field” Secret)
- Harry T. Jones
- 17 hours ago
- 4 min read
Part 4 of the 7-week “Recipe for Executing a Succession Plan” series
Last Friday, I was sitting with a founder who was feeling a little frustrated.
He’s in the middle of training his successor, a non-family member who is brilliant with numbers. But as we talked, the founder sighed. He told me that every time he walks by the guy’s office, the successor is sitting behind a computer with his headphones on, buried in spreadsheets.
He isn’t talking to customers.
He isn’t out with the contractors.
He’s trying to find the future of the company in a cell on a screen.
It reminded me of an old saying: The farmer’s best fertilizer is two feet in the field.
You can’t identify your niche from behind a desk. You find it by getting your boots on the ground and seeing where you actually bring the most value. Because here is the truth: If you try to be everything to everyone, you end up being nothing to no one.
To finish well, you have to know exactly what your company does better than anyone else in the marketplace and rewards you well. Recognize your niche.
The Key Ingredients: What Are You Measuring?
A baker doesn’t just “guess” how much flour to use. They measure. To find your niche, you need to measure three specific things:
✅ The Customer Niche: Who are your top five customers? Not just by sales, but by gross margin dollars. Who pays a fair price and depends on you the most?
✅ The Product or Service Niche: Which of your offerings generates the most profit with the lowest associated expenses?
✅ The Moat: What is the “barrier to entry” that protects your business? Think of your niche like a castle. How are you widening the moat to keep competitors out?
The Measurements and Timing: The 90/10 Rule
In my twenty-one years at Blackberry Patch, we identified our core product category early on. We didn’t chase every shiny new idea. We followed a specific rhythm:
The 90% Focus: 90% of your ingredients; your time, energy, and resources, must go toward your core niche. This is where your profit lives.
The 10% Tinker: You can use 10% of your resources to innovate and try new things. But you never let the 10% distract you from the 90%.
Measure Margin, Not Sales: I once served on a board for a company that grew from $90 million to $500 million in sales. They went out of business. Why? Because they were chasing sales dollars and ignoring profitability. Profit is the blood of your business. Without it, the mission dies.
The Secret Sauce: The “Yes, If” Strategy
When you know your niche, your decision-making becomes simple. It moves from “No, because” to “Yes, if.”
When a customer comes to you with a request, you ask: Does this fit our niche?
If the answer is yes, you don’t just say yes. You say, “Yes, if…” Yes, if you will buy a truckload,” or “Yes, if you will support [a specific ingredient].” You protect your resources by only investing them where you have a clear advantage.
Real Stories: Killing the Name to Save the Niche
One of our Breakthrough Group members was transitioning his business to his son. The company name actually included a specific niche, but over the years, that part of the business had shrunk to less than 10%. It was confusing to customers and a drain on resources.
The son realized the core customer didn’t even buy that product anymore. He had the courage to tell his father: “Kill it, sell it, or starve it.”
They changed the name, dropped the dead weight, and focused entirely on what they did best. They stopped chasing the past so they could dominate the future.
Action Steps: Get Your Feet in the Field This Week
Ready to get your Mise en Place (everything in its place) ready for Recipe #4? Here is your homework:
✅ The 5-5-5 Visit: Visit your 5 largest customers, your 5 largest lost customers, and your 5 largest prospects. Ask them one question: “What are the reasons you do (or don’t) business with us?”
✅ Audit Your Margin: Stop looking at top-line sales. Look at your gross margin dollars per customer. Who is actually keeping the lights on?
✅ Build Your Trellis: Once you identify the niche, build the system (the trellis) that supports it. A vine can only grow so far on its own. It needs a structure to climb.
As Clayton, another of our members, says: “A niche is the unique way you look at an opportunity and the unique way you serve.”
Find that unique way, and you’ll build a business worth continuing.
Next week: Recipe #5 – Building Your Leadership Team (Choosing Your Successor)
P.S. We are on a mission to help 100 founders execute a succession plan and finish well. If you’re tired of chasing sales and ready to focus on impact, we have two spots available in our Finishing Well Breakthrough Groups. Click here to learn more.
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