In this edition of “Very Niche!”, meet Josh Morgan aka the Seattle Ring Hunter.

Any idea what he does? 😉

​Profiled in yesterday's Seattle Times, Josh is simply the go-to guy when you lose something valuable in one of the many bodies of water in the region.

He’s scuba-certified, admittedly a “bit of a gear nerd”, and will happily pop over to literally dive in on what you might consider an impossible task.

Once down, he applies a meticulous search process he’s honed over time leveraging both his own experiences and a growing set of technologies.

And as his many testimonials can attest, he always recovers the item, even if it takes several attempts.

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So let’s break down his niche business and go-to-market approach:

Problem: a client has an urgent, expensive problem they quickly realize they can’t solve themselves

Discoverability: They ask a friend or Google ‘lost ring seattle’ and guess who pops up

Messaging: His website is immediately clear on what he does and how to contact him

Social proof: Rather than dig into nuts & bolts of his process, his homepage simply has pictures of past clients with their recovered item — aka, preview the outcome

Note: he saves details on his approach and technology for a different blog and YouTube page altogether.

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Pricing: the Times profile reports he charges ~$400 per case, but his website adds that he accepts gratuities based on “what its worth to you and what you can afford to have me find your lost item”

An interesting take on ‘value pricing’, no? 🤔

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Referral loop: Aside from a growing chorus of testimonials, he says it’s not uncommon for someone to notice him coming out of the lake with his gear and have folks approach him saying they’d lost something in that same lake months or years prior.

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​The profile is an interesting, even heart-warming read, and his no-frills website balances simplicity, urgency and a preview of relief all at a quick glance.

The main lessons for us, as consultants playing in a more abstract, corporate field?

• Telegraphing a unique value proposition comes much more easily with a deep specialization
• And perhaps more importantly, nerding out full-tilt on a niche you genuinely enjoy helps make you an obvious and delightful choice for your target client, even under stressful circumstances

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Btw, even if you don’t live in the area, his advice when you lose something in a lake:

“If you drop it in, drop a pin.” 📍

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💡

-Wes