Jason Lee: Is Your Niche Too Small? If you want smoother growth, start broad. Give people what they already want. Once they’re with you, then you can bring out your “yuzu.”

 

A new café opened near my house not long ago. Their entire menu centered on one item: yuzu-flavored coffee. That was it.

The drink itself wasn’t bad. Actually, it was refreshing. But within six months, the café had shut down.

The issue wasn’t quality. The issue was that the owners were asking people to want something they’d never asked for. Most folks just wanted a regular latte or cappuccino. Instead, the café tried to convince customers that yuzu coffee was the “next big thing.”

That’s one of the hardest ways to run a business.

The Problem with Educating Customers

This happens all the time. A restaurant opens with one unique recipe the owner is proud of. Maybe it’s a family tradition or a cultural specialty and they assume that being different guarantees success.

But uniqueness doesn’t automatically create demand. Most people don’t wake up craving citrus in their coffee. And if you spend most of your energy convincing them, you’ll run out of steam fast.

The same trap shows up in content creation. Many creators start with their personal obsession and build everything around it, without asking if anyone’s actually searching for that.

Just because you love something doesn’t mean it has a market.

The Smarter Play: Meet Existing Demand

The most profitable businesses don’t invent desire. They meet it where it already exists.

Think about a coin laundromat. Nobody has to be persuaded to wash their clothes. If the location is right, let's say, an apartment-heavy neighborhood without in-unit laundry, the business works because the demand is already baked in.

Or barbershops. People don’t need convincing to get haircuts. They just want it done well, at the right price, and close to home.

That’s why the café near me struggled.

If they had sold regular coffee first, the thing people already wanted, they would’ve had steady traffic.

Then they could have introduced the yuzu as a limited special. The basics cover the bills; the unique idea gets tested safely.

The same principle applies online.

A Simple Framework

Before I start anything new, I run three quick checks:

1. Total Addressable Market (TAM): Are enough people actually searching for this?
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2. Baseline + Twist: Lead with what people already want (regular coffee). Then add your personal spin (yuzu).
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3. Test Gradually: Don’t gamble everything on the unique idea. Use mainstream demand as the base, and introduce your twist as a side option.

Is Your Niche Too Small?

One way to spot trouble early is to ask:

Am I shrinking the market by overfocusing on my personal story?

Let's say you're a fitness creator focusing on injury recovery.

• Too narrow: “I only make workouts for skateboarders recovering from ACL tears.”
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  ​That’s such a tiny overlap of people that you’ve boxed yourself in before you start.​
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• Smart move: “I make recovery workouts for anyone with an injury. Along the way, I share how I personally came back from an ACL tear as a skateboarder.”

The broad demand (injury recovery) pulls people in. Your background (skateboarding + ACL tear) adds personality once they’re already listening.

The Bottom Line

It’s tempting to lead with the thing that feels most unique to us. But that’s usually the hardest, riskiest way to grow.

If you want smoother growth, start broad. Give people what they already want. Once they’re with you, then you can bring out your “yuzu.”

And that’s all for today. See you next Wednesday.

Until next time,
- Jason
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