I have four niches or specialisms:
- Sector: IT for financial services
- Programming language: PHP
- Type of work: Bespoke/legacy applications
- Working arrangement: Retainer-based
These make up the majority of my business, though I also work for clients outside of financial services, use languages other than PHP and work on fixed-fee projects.
I found my sector niche by working in insurance full-time, which means I’ve got sector-specific knowledge and experience. My retainer niche was a combination of what I wanted to do (retainer = guaranteed income) and I saw a gap in the market for clients who wanted someone with my skill-set on a regular basis, but not permanent or full time. I can’t remember what got me started with PHP – it was over 20 years ago!