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I peeked into the store.
Phew. There were just a handful of customers. And for this store - The Shell Station - that was unusual.
More often than not, The Shell Station is so overcrowded that the waiting-to-check-out line winds like an undulating snake all the way to the back.
The Shell Station sells one thing, and one thing only.
High necked, fitted shirts/shells for religious Jewish women to put under any top or dress to make it meet their modesty standards. Today they've branched out to create some other basic modest clothing items. But for years that was literally all they sold. Long sleeved shells. Sleeveless shells. Lycra, cotton or modal shells. And in every color of the rainbow, for kids and adults.
They created a category and owned it hard. A very niche item for a very niche audience. And in just 15 years, they went from one tiny basement store to several large locations and an online shop.
Not bad, right?
Lately, I've been going all in on Andre Chaperon's idea of "tiny digital worlds." (Tiny is relative. You can do millions in sales each month and it will still be a tiny percentage of the online world.)
Here's the premise: there's a market for everything, no matter how weird, niche or obscure. And in the big online world - you have access to an entire world worth of people. Within those millions of internet users, there are going to be enough people out there who would be very into your unique offering.
And that is how you can, as Andre says, niche at scale. Take a small niche, own it, and find enough people who want what you have to build a thriving business.
The common thinking is "let's reach as many people as possible right away." But maybe a better way is to be the number one, go-to brand for the people who will be love you.
This is the route I want to lean into for my clients. Finding your fan base and forging your brand around them.
If this is what you want - an audience that raves about you, because you're such a perfect fit for them - let's talk.
Go small to go big,
Chavy