Finding Your Niche
By Linda Tapp, ALCM, CSP

Safety Consultants can choose from a wide variety of specialties when deciding where to concentrate their efforts. While some people try to do it all, consultants that are very successful usually narrow their focus to either one or a handful of specialized fields.

The Wide World of Safety Consulting presentation will attempt to describe what it takes to get started in some of these niches and things that you need to think about when deciding to specialize. This seminar will include information on the specialties of fire safety consulting, process safety, safety engineering and expert witness work.

Deciding to start a Safety Consulting firm can be a difficult decision - especially if you are the primary breadwinner in your household. Roughly 75% of all new businesses will fail within the first 5 years. I believe that safety consultants probably follow this trend. Many safety consultants are convinced that they can be successful just because they have great technical experience or a well-known previous employer (like OSHA or Dupont). Unfortunately, 30 years in the business and past job titles can mean very little in the fate of your new venture.

One way to help your business to succeed is to specialize, or to focus on a specific niche within safety consulting. By identifying and pursuing a niche, you can obtain a stronghold and attract and even more importantly, maintain clients who will be willing to pay for the value of your consulting services.

Another benefit of finding a niche is that you can usually easily find your target audience so you don't have to spend a lot of money marketing. For example, if you decide that healthcare is going to be your area of specialization, you would try to get in front of and connect with hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, etc. You would not be trying to be all things to all people.

If you chose your niche right, you will also be limiting your competition. Think of someone who specializes in safety for funeral homes. With few competitors, you can quickly become known and make this "your turf". You can soon be the big fish (or the only fish) in a small pond. The large international safety consulting firms will probably ignore your success and leave you alone because the target market will be too small for them to be drawn to it.

So, how do you decide what niche is right for you? Finding one that works and one that fits your skills can be challenging. You need to be ready to be creative, hone your observation and listening skills, and to look at things a little differently.

One of the first ways to think up a niche is to update an old idea. In safety, old ideas abound. What is something that hasn't changed in decades? Perhaps the idea of running safety committees.

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