Why You Becoming The Niche Will Win In 2026

Forget about niching into an industry, this year, it's all about personal branding and developing yourself as a niche.

In 2004, I started a side hustle ironing people’s clothes to bring in a bit of extra money and as the year went on, I started getting so much business that I had to give up my full-time job.

One day, I get a call from a company that provides chair covers and table cloths to the wedding industry. They ask me if I’ll launder, iron and return on hangers over 100 cotton chair covers. “Sure”, I say. How hard can it be? And of course, I was desperate for the money.

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Turns out, it wasveryhard. I spent all day and night getting that work done in a blind panic I wouldn’t have it ready on time for the customer. Then they came back and asked for more.

I started doing my research and realised there was a gap in the market. Whilst launderettes would happily do the washing, and some might even do the ironing, they weren’t able to offer a delivery service. At the time, I only had a car, but, I decided to go for it.

Back then, social media wasn’t a thing, so, I had some brochure style leaflets printed and posted them out to events companies, weddings suppliers and wedding venues. Within those first few years, I had work rolling in. I had become the go-to service provider for laundry and ironing in the West Midlands.

I got a combi-style van and then eventually, I invested in a huge Volkswagen LT32 which I had customised with rails to hang up hundreds of chair covers at a time. I didn’t know it then but, I had become the niche. Yes, me personally.

You see the thing was, I had a skill set others didn’t have, which meant my skills were unique. With the rise of AI, people are getting more and more sick of inauthenticity, which is why this year, the demand is in personal brands and that means that personal niching is something every business owner should aspire to right now.

You’re going to see a rise of CEOs stepping out of the darkness and into the light, trust me. So, think about it. What skill set do you have that can make you become the niche?