At one of my Profit & Dine Dinner Masterminds, Bruce — owner of a cybersecurity company — was losing it.
“Everyone wants something for free…”
“I’m wasting hours with idiots…”
“My head is exploding…”
You know exactly the type he was dealing with:
The prospect who drains you before they ever pay you.
The one who wants the world for nothing and reviews your proposal like a hostage negotiation.
So I asked the most basic question:
“Who are your best customers?”
“Doctors and lawyers,” he said without hesitation.
“And are they the ones wasting your time?”
“God no. They’re amazing. Pay on time. Leave great reviews. Zero drama.”
So I asked the question that made everyone at the table put down their forks:
“Then why the hell aren’t you selling directly to them?”
Bruce’s answer?
Because cybersecurity “applies to everyone,” and he “didn’t want to miss out.”
And this — THIS — is the silent disease killing so many SMEs.
Not market conditions.
Not competitors.
Not the economy.
It’s the fear of missing out on people you shouldn’t be serving in the first place.
Bruce’s best customers were:
- Affluent
- Low maintenance
- High referral potential
- Grateful
- And terrified of cyber breaches (meaning they value excellence, not discounts)
Yet instead of planting his flag in that goldmine, he tried to market to “everyone.”
He burned money trying to behave like Coca-Cola when he should have marketed like a surgeon — precise, specific, undeniable.
And so he attracted “Margaret and Tim.”
The discount-obsessed time-suckers.
The clients who ask for a “quick favour” that turns into a two-hour unpaid nightmare.
The ones who ghost when the invoice arrives.
Here’s the part that still annoys me:
Bruce doesn’t even talk about that cybersecurity business anymore.
It didn’t die because of competition.
It didn’t die because “the market changed.”
It died because Bruce refused to focus.
He was terrified of missing out.
And so he missed everything.
Meanwhile, the niche that would have made him wealthy was sitting there waving at him like a crazy signal crossing guard.
Doctors and lawyers would have built him a referral engine.
A high-margin practice.
A stable business with predictable income.
Something he could have sold… or passed on to his kids.
Instead, fear won.
So write this on a piece of paper and tape it to your wall:
“You don’t win by being available to everyone.
You win by being indispensable to someone.”
Let your competitors entertain Margaret and Tim.
Let them fight over pennies and late payments.
You?
Plant your flag where the money is good, the clients appreciate you, and the work actually matters.
Niching down doesn’t shrink your world.
It expands it.
So here’s the real question:
Do you lie awake terrified you’re missing out…or do you sleep soundly knowing your customers value you, pay you, and send others like them?
One leads to burnout.
The other leads to a business someone would fight to buy —
or one your children would be proud to inherit.
Choose wisely.
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P.S. I’m not the “systems,” “finance,” or “fix your processes” guy.
I help you fall in love with your business again—Because it finally gives you the life you want today
While setting you up to exit on your terms tomorrow.
Join my list for blunt insights and practical strategies to build a business that gives you your life back – and the power to walk away, when you’re ready, on your terms