Become a category creator: Find your ignored, profitable niche

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Hey rebel solopreneurs 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️

Most solopreneurs focus on being better than others.

To be successful in your business, you don't have to be better, you have to be "different", so you can create a category of one.

⛳️ Why this works

Before you stand out, you need a niche.

But most creators approach it wrong. They try to be better. Better content. Better advice. Better marketing.

Here's the thing:

"Better" means you're similar to what exists. You're competing on someone else's terms.

Pepsi mentions Coke. Coke never mentions Pepsi.

Category Kings never acknowledge competition.

Think of it like fishing.

Most creators use bright lures. Flashy colors. Fancy movements. Looks impressive.

But the fish don't bite.

Why? They're targeting what fish see, not what fish want. Food. Safety. Territory.

Category Creators work differently. They find ignored problems. Underserved audiences. Unconventional solutions that make people stop and think: "Wait, this is different. Do I need this?"

You're not competing to catch the same fish everyone's fishing for.

You're fishing in a completely different pond.

Turns out, different beats better every single time. Bingo.

Let's see how Lisa figured this out:

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Lisa is a business coach. Posts LinkedIn advice 4 times a week.

But here's her problem.

After 14 months and 240 posts, Lisa had 3,200 followers. Engagement looked decent. Likes rolling in. Comments here and there.

Client inquiries? Maybe 2 per month. All asking about price. Most ghosting after the quote.

She tried improving her content. Better hooks. Better frameworks. Better stories.

Still competing with 47,000 other business coaches all saying similar things.

6 hours per week creating content. Zero clear differentiation.

Lisa was tired of being "one of many."

Then Lisa found something. A principle from multi-million dollar category creators.

A concept called "Category of One."

It explained exactly why competing on "better" was killing her positioning. And how to find ignored problems and own a category in minutes instead of months.

Lisa decided to follow these steps:

Step 1: Find ignored problems in her topic Step 2: Discover unconventional solutions audiences want Step 3: Niche down to category ownership

🎯 Step 1: Lisa finds ignored problems and underserved audiences

Lisa needed to find problems everyone else was ignoring. Not the popular ones where all the competition lived.

But she couldn't see which problems were actually ignored or which audiences were underserved but willing to pay.

Here's what she tried:

The ignored problem finder prompt:

You are a Category Creator helping me find IGNORED problems and UNDERSERVED audiences.

STEP 1: I will give you my general topic.

STEP 2: You will list the 10 most common problems people face in this topic (10 words max per problem).

STEP 3: After you show me the 10 problems, ask me to pick one problem.

STEP 4: Once I pick a problem, you will identify 10 UNDERSERVED audiences who:
   - Face this problem significantly
   - Are largely ignored by current solutions
   - Are willing to pay for resolution
   
Be specific about WHO these ignored groups are. Use 10 words max per audience.

Focus on audiences that need help but aren't getting it from existing solutions.

---

<INPUT>
My topic: {INSERT Your Topic e.g Business coaching}
</INPUT>

Their AI sidekick returned 10 common business coaching problems:

1. Can't scale revenue past $100K

2. Don't know how to find clients consistently

3. Struggling to stand out from other coaches

4. Can't convert discovery calls to paying clients

5. Pricing too low, can't raise rates

Lisa scanned the list. Number 3 hit different. "Struggling to stand out from other coaches."

That was her exact pain. And if she was struggling with it, other coaches were too.

Then their AI sidekick showed 10 underserved audiences for that problem:

1. Career-transition coaches helping mid-career professionals (ages 35-50)

2. Neurodivergent coaches targeting ADHD/autistic entrepreneurs

3. Immigrant coaches serving non-native English speaking business owners

4. Introverted coaches uncomfortable with typical "guru" marketing

5. Technical background coaches (engineers/developers turned consultants)

Lisa stopped at number 4.

"Introverted coaches uncomfortable with typical guru marketing."

That was her. She hated the flashy, loud, "I'm crushing it" approach every coach seemed to use.

Completion moment: Lisa knew exactly which problem to solve and which underserved audience needed her help.

💡 Step 2: Lisa discovers unconventional solutions

Lisa had her problem: helping introverted coaches stand out.

She had her audience: coaches uncomfortable with guru marketing.

Now she needed an unconventional solution that would make people think: "Woah, I never thought of that."

She ran this prompt:

The unconventional solution generator prompt:

You are a creative problem solver with deep psychology understanding.

Given my target audience and problem, generate 10 UNCONVENTIONAL solutions.

Focus on:
- Weird approaches most people ignore
- Opportunistic angles others miss  
- Solutions that make people think "I never thought of that"

Avoid popular, obvious solutions where competition exists.

List 10 solutions using 10 words max per solution.

---

<INPUT>
Target audience: {Use from Prompt 1 above e.g Introverted coaches uncomfortable with guru marketing}

Problem to solve: {Use from Prompt 1 above e.g Struggling to stand out from other coaches}
</INPUT>

Their AI sidekick returned 10 unconventional solutions:

1. Teach "anti-marketing" positioning for coaches who hate self-promotion

2. Create category differentiation frameworks instead of content strategies

3. Use thought leadership through quiet authority vs loud presence

4. Build positioning through unconventional niche combinations others ignore

5. Develop "stealth expert" brand for introverts avoiding spotlight

Lisa's eyes stopped at number 2.

"Create category differentiation frameworks instead of content strategies."

Everyone taught content strategies. Nobody taught how to create an entirely different category.

That was the weird, opportunistic solution. Different from what 47,000 other coaches were doing.

Completion moment: Lisa had her unconventional solution that separated her from every other business coach.

🎨 Step 3: Lisa niches down to category ownership

Lisa had everything:

• Problem: Standing out as a coach

• Audience: Introverted coaches

• Solution: Category differentiation frameworks

But she still felt too broad. "Introverted coaches" was still a pretty big group.

She needed to get so specific that it became crystal clear who she was for and who she wasn't for.

She ran this prompt:

The category niche mapper prompt:

You are a digital entrepreneur specializing in niche positioning.

STEP 1: I will give you my solution from Prompt 2.

STEP 2: You will create 21 HYPER-SPECIFIC niches across these 7 dimensions:

1. By Price (3 niches)
2. By Industry (3 niches)  
3. By Location (3 niches)
4. By Experience (3 niches)
5. By Situation (3 niches)
6. By Demographic (3 niches)
7. By Problem (3 niches)

Each niche: 10 words max, be CLEAR about WHO the target audience is.

STEP 3: After you show me the 21 niches, ask me to pick one niche.

STEP 4: Once I pick a niche, provide a natural summary like this:

Your niche? [who they are specifically]

The problem you solve? [what they're struggling with in plain talk]

How you help? [your approach without jargon]

What happens for them? [the real transformation they experience]

---

<INPUT>
Solution: {Use from Prompt 2 above e.g Category differentiation frameworks instead of content strategies}
</INPUT>

Their AI sidekick returned 21 niche angles.

Under "By Situation":

• Niche 5: "Introverted coaches launching first group program, need positioning"

• Niche 6: "Introverted coaches pivoting from 1-on-1 to scalable offers"

• Niche 7: "Introverted coaches recovering from failed launch, rebuilding credibility"

Lisa stopped at Niche 6.

"Introverted coaches pivoting from 1-on-1 to scalable offers."

That was incredibly specific. She could picture the exact person. She WAS that person 8 months ago.

Their AI sidekick came back with this:

Lisa's niche? Introverted coaches pivoting from 1-on-1 to scalable offers.

The problem she solves? These coaches are shifting their entire business model but hate the loud, "look at me" guru marketing everyone says they need.

How she helps? She teaches category differentiation frameworks. They build quiet authority instead of shouting for attention.

What happens for them? They get clear positioning that actually attracts the right people. More qualified leads show up. They scale without pretending to be someone they're not.

Completion moment: Lisa had absolute clarity on her category of one.

🏆 Lisa's results after 3 weeks

Before:

• Positioning: "One of 47,000 business coaches"

• Client inquiries: 2 per month (price shoppers)

• Weekly content time: 6 hours

• Differentiation: Unclear

After:

• Positioning: "The Category Creator for Introverted Coaches"

• Client inquiries: 8 per month (ideal clients who get it)

• Weekly content time: 3 hours (clear messaging = faster creation)

• Differentiation: Crystal clear (owns the category)

Her process now:

1. Pick topic to explore (2 minutes)

2. Run Prompt 1: Find ignored problem + underserved audience (5 minutes)

3. Run Prompt 2: Discover unconventional solution (3 minutes)

4. Run Prompt 3: Map 21 niche angles + get summary (8 minutes)

5. Review and refine positioning (10 minutes)

Total time: 28 minutes. Not 6 months of trial and error.

Her AI sidekick handles problem discovery, solution generation, and niche mapping in under 20 minutes. Bingo.

🧩 Your turn

Copy all 3 prompts into your AI sidekick. Run them in the same chat.

Start with your topic in Prompt 1. Your AI sidekick shows 10 problems, you pick one, then it reveals 10 underserved audiences.

Then Prompt 2 runs with your chosen audience. It generates 10 unconventional solutions.

Then Prompt 3 maps 21 specific niches across 7 dimensions and gives you the final summary.

Generation time: 18 minutes total. Time to clarity: 30 minutes.

That's it, my fellow outliers!

Yours 'helping you earn more by doing way less' Vijay peduru 🦸‍♂️