March 24, 2023

How To Choose A Vertical

When I work with people on picking a vertical, I start by asking what industry they already have access to and we work through a process to make a list of candidate verticals.

Here’s how you can do it on your own:

Make a list of people you know, starting from those closest to you and working your way out. Then, next to each name, add the names of verticals that they are in or have access to.

You’ll end up with a list of people who would gladly jump on a call to provide all the inside information you could possibly ask for on a wide range of vertical target markets.

For me, this list would be:

Retail print advertising (my wife)
Knitting (also my wife)
Newspaper industry (my dad)
Elementary education (my mom)
Indy bookstores (my stepdad)
Public health policy (my brother)
Retail IT (my other brother)
Fine arts (my sister)
Higher ed (my other sister)
Management consulting (close friend)
Residential property sales (close friend)
Personal fitness training (my trainer)
Credit unions (past client of mine)
Professional photography (past client of mine)
Cruise industry (past client of mine)
Music performance (past job of mine)
Event production (past job of mine)
Print design automation (past job of mine)
Retail advertising (past job of mine)
Martial arts (long-time hobby)
Music education (I went to music school)

I could keep going, but I suppose I’ve made my point.

Maybe my list is longer than yours would be. Maybe you think this is because I’m old (true!) or because you think I’m particularly social (not true!).

Making the list is not the problem I see with my students. By age 30 or so, most people seem to have amassed enough life experience to make a similar list. The problem is that they are too quick to dismiss all of the verticals on the list as non-viable without doing any real research.

I hear things like:

“I’ll get bored.”
“I won’t like that vertical.”
“They don’t have enough money.”
etc...

Comments like these made prior to doing any research are either based on fear, laziness, or some combination of the two.

Here’s the thing...

Make your list. Call everybody on it. Ask them the magic wand question.

If after doing this you still believe there are no good verticals for you to explore, then fine.

You can give up with my blessing.

—J