Is Your Niche Hurting Your Business?

Lori Widmer had a fascinating post the other day about discrimination--more specifically, discrimination against a certain kind of niche market: working moms. There's a big Work-At-Home-Mom (WAHM) niche out there, and some freelancers market themselves largely or exclusively under this title. Lori's position is that doing this can invite discrimination against a). those who work from home and b). parents, particularly moms (there doesn't seem to be a correspondingly big niche group of WAHD freelancers out there).

I have nothing but respect for working moms. Being a parent is a full-time job in itself, and I can only imagine that trying to be a full-time freelancer and a full-time parent at the same time is brutal. I could imagine that if I managed to be reasonably successful at doing both, I'd want to broadcast it to everyone. Hell, I'd want to put it on my business cards. But I can also see Lori's point--that presenting yourself as a work-at-home-mom invites employers to see you as something other than a businessperson, and that's not a good thing. If I were a client, I could understand hesitation about hiring a freelancer who seems to be so wrapped up in her off-work life that she identifies herself with it in business.

So this got me thinking about other ways we try to niche-market ourselves that may invite discrimination. Here's what I've come up with:

The Gen-Y expert. I write occasionally for Brazen Careerist, a website that caters to what's sometimes called "Gen-Y Thought Leaders." I've had people categorize me under this label several times. It's true, I am a young business owner in my 20's (for a couple more years, at any rate) and it's flattering to be called a "thought leader" of any kind. I have a great deal of respect for my peers in this age range and all they've accomplished. BUT, I'm not always comfortable being labeled a "Gen-Y" businessowner. The phrase "Gen-Y" comes with its own baggage, probably the most prominent of which is "young"--and by association, "inexperienced." You've also got other doozies like "entitled" and "demanding"--none of which are things I want clients thinking about when they think of me.

The Creative. I'm a creative person. I write poetry, short fiction, and novels. I love slam poetry and have a serious crush on Taylor Mali. I also act and sing and do all kinds of artsy things. Do I bring it up to clients? No, unless it's relevant to the job. Creativity often doesn't go hand-in-hand with business savvy in popular conception, although in real life this is definitely not always the case. As a freelance writer, I feel it's crucial to present myself first as a businessperson, second as a writer--because "writer" falls under "creative," and it feels to me like my work could be valued less if my creativity were promoted over my business sense.

The Work-at-Homer. There's an automatic association out there that if you work from home, you don't have a real job. If you're a freelancer, I'm sure you've experienced this. Everyone out there who's had a friend, family member or spouse ask you to watch the kids, pick up so-and-so from the airport, or do a little more housework because "you know, you're home anyway" raise your hand. See? I rest my case. Anyway, I don't make a big deal of my work-from-home status either because I'm aware that it seems more professional to work from a big spiffy office that's, you know, in a place other than your house.

I don't like to promote these sides of myself to clients, and i'm not sure it's smart to. But I have great respect for all of these types of people--they're all me. What do you avoid putting on your marketing materials?