Every startup business venture needs to be focused on a particular niche, if there’s any hope of it becoming successful, and if you, as an entrepreneur, aren’t going to spend all of your energy too haphazardly.

Of course, there are all sorts of different considerations that go into deciding what the right niche for your business is, ranging from an assessment of the most profitable industries at the moment, to an overview of where your current skills overlap with market demand.

Here are a few straightforward and effective tips to help you set about the process of figuring out the right niche for your start-up.

Follow Your Heart (And Your Gut)

It’s all very well to say that you’re going to base your decision on which niche to explore purely on what seems to be profitable or popular at that particular moment in time.

When all is said and done, though, this kind of purely tactical decision is likely to backfire, if you don’t also take into consideration which niches you actually like and feel like exploring.

In her book, “The Willpower Instinct,” Kelly McGonigal argues against the popular idea that “grit” is what it takes to really thrive in any given field, by arguing that willpower is always highest when you’re doing something that you actually enjoy. Furthermore, when people are motivated to work on a topic they actually enjoy, that motivation can often be mistaken for “grit.”

First and foremost, listen to your heart (and your gut) about what niche would be right for you.

Use Your Existing Experience as a Springboard

It might be that you’ve got a bit of a background in creating technical specifications in your previous day job, and also have an interest in the construction industry. If that’s the case, then a career in creating reprographics might just be for you.

While you should go for a niche that you enjoy and are interested in, it’s also very useful if you can use your existing experience as a springboard forward.

Often, you’ll be able to combine several different overlapping skills and interests, to create a unique approach to the service or product your offering.

Create a Business That Solves a Particular Problem, or Fulfils a Particular Need That You Have

Ultimately, every business exists, first and foremost, to help resolve some problem that its prospective customers are experiencing – or, to help address a particular need they feel they have.

When figuring out the right niche for your business, it’s often a very good exercise to put yourself in the position of the customer. Imagine you are making a product, or selling a service, aimed specifically for yourself. What particular problems have you experienced that you want a resolution to? What need do you have that you could address?

It might be that, as a customer yourself, you have been frustrated by the way in which many leading companies handle customer services. If that’s the case, then you could be the one to do things differently.