You might recall this ‘bow tie’ framework.

It’s my representation of the five foundations a solo consultant needs to sort out to find their sweet spot and footing in the market.

The center, you’ll remember, is a Signature POV.

A synthesis of unique insights and experiences from time in your domain.

Something you hold to be true that’s widely unknown or misunderstood in the market.

Something that finishes the sentence, “My practice is built on the idea that…”

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This POV serves as your unique differentiator in a sea of other consultants.

A center of gravity for your services, your content, and your practice as a whole.

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Developing a POV is something I work on with clients, typically over several sessions.

When I was ghostwriting for tech execs, this would sometimes take months to land on something super-durable you could build a course or keynote around.

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Last month, I held an experiment with 6 of your peers to see if I could modularize the development of a Signature POV in one standalone 60-minute session.

Ambitious? Yes.

The results? Mixed.

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Not because of the participants (you were all brilliant, btw 🙏 )

Not because of lack of insights (everyone had countless ideas to explore)

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There were two reasons why we weren’t able to quite get to a POV:

1. It just takes time — even with some prep work, synthesizing decades of expertise into one succinct statement requires reflection and iteration
2. You have to start with a strong ‘who’ — with more than half of the participants, the conversation drifted back to the decision of who to serve and why. We hadn't settled the 'who'.

A POV is only valuable if relevant and helpful to a set of individuals or teams facing a specific, widespread problem.

If you’re straddling between two potential ICPs, something’s gotta give…

And you’ll likely end up with a generalized view that may not be relevant or all that interesting to either.

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Feeling like you have nothing unique to say?

Or are you talking and seemingly no one’s listening?

You’re likely saying something that's too generic to be relevant.

Which often means you’ve punted the ‘who’ question.

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💡

-Wes

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👀 Just three slots remain in my NicheFinder pilot to sort out your 'who' - a 3-session, 1-week done-with-you sprint to help you articulate your genius zone, and nail your niche.

Reply 'NICHE' and I'll send you the details for you to consider.
One slot left to start next week. Two slots for the week after.