# A niche the hours can fill > Dana picks a first niche for her one-person tutoring practice: sized by her free hours, described by need and by where people gather, honest about rivals and risks, with a short list of whom she says no to. - Course: [Marketing Strategy: Who to Win and How](https://productovi.com/courses/marketing-strategy.md) - Module: Whom do we serve first? - Lesson 11/32, ~21 min - Source: https://productovi.com/courses/marketing-strategy/a-niche-the-hours-can-fill ## Dana's practice **Alex Tutor:** Today, a step away from Klasna's plan. Dana teaches English at Klasna and, since September 2026, also runs her own practice for adults: three students from friends at the start, two more since October, a few posts on her social-media account and a messenger channel. **Alex Tutor:** Her budget is a few thousand hryvnias; her real constraint is time. And one rule from her Klasna contract: she never approaches Klasna's families or learners. **Dana:** I have twelve evening slots a week, about forty-eight lessons a month, and my five students fill about thirty. My posts say "English for adults, any level, any goal". Since the people who wrote in September, nobody new has written. **Sofia:** "Any goal" is the one-offer-for-everyone stance again, just smaller. **Alex Tutor:** Right. A **niche** is a narrow segment with specific needs that one person can serve unusually well. For Dana it doesn't need to be a market. It needs to fill eighteen lessons a month. > **Exercise:** Which of these is a **niche** in the sense of this lesson? ## How big is big enough **Dana:** Three of my five students work in tech companies: the QA engineer, a sales manager and a designer. They bring me real call notes and emails, and we practise exactly that. Of the other two, one is preparing for an exam to work abroad, and one runs a bakery. **Alex Tutor:** Start from the hours. Your students take about six lessons a month each, one and a half a week. Eighteen free lessons a month is three more students. **Sofia:** And in September two of the five people who wrote to her started lessons. At two in five, three more students take about eight conversations. **Alex Tutor:** That's the size test for a one-person niche: about eight good conversations over a few months, not thousands of people. Narrow is fine if it's reachable. **Alex Tutor:** So how big does a one-person niche have to be? > **Exercise:** A niche for a one-person practice is only worth choosing if it contains thousands of potential customers. > **Exercise:** Dana has **12** evening slots a week, about **48** lessons a month, and her five students take about **30**. New students in her niche will take about **6** lessons a month each, and about **two in five** people who write to her start lessons. How many conversations does she need to fill the calendar? ## Fit, reach and rivals **Sofia:** Why IT calls and not moving abroad? **Alex Tutor:** Check the same two sides as Klasna, in a small version. Fit: she already teaches this and has three students who can vouch for her. Reach: they have colleagues with the same need and evenings free. Moving abroad is one student so far, with a different need each time. **Dana:** But there must be a hundred tutors for IT people already. **Alex Tutor:** There are, plus free videos, chatbots and courses paid by employers. A niche still has rivals; you choose it for fit, not because it looks empty. Your edge: practice built on their own calls, and evening hours that suit them. **Sofia:** And the risk? **Alex Tutor:** If hiring in IT slows, the niche shrinks with it. Write that down next to the choice and look at it again in three months. **Alex Tutor:** Dana's choice has a weak spot. What does she do with it? > **Exercise:** If hiring in IT slows, Dana's niche shrinks. What should she do about that risk now? > **Exercise:** Which are good reasons for Dana to lead with adults in IT who need English for work calls? Select all that apply. ## Whom she says no to **Dana:** Saying no feels wrong when I have empty slots. **Alex Tutor:** A short "not for me" list protects the slots for the niche. School students and exam prep: outside your adult niche, and close to Klasna's families. Anyone who asks to move from Klasna to you: your contract says no, so keep them at Klasna. **Sofia:** And beginners from zero who can only do mornings? **Alex Tutor:** Her daytime goes to her Klasna lessons, so that one is about time, not about the person. A polite no with a pointer elsewhere is still good word of mouth. > **Exercise:** **True or false:** a good niche is one with no competitors; if other tutors already serve IT people, Dana should look for a different niche. > **Exercise:** Match each request Dana gets with the right answer. **Dana:** So my first plan row is basically who I serve, how many I need, and who I don't take. **Alex Tutor:** Plus the risk and a review date. Then your posts can speak to one person instead of everyone. **Sofia:** Should the line say why IT and not moving abroad? **Dana:** Yes, one reason. I'll forget it otherwise. > **Exercise:** Dana's facts: 18 free evening lessons a month; new students take about 6 a month; about two in five people who write to her start; three of her five students work in tech and practise their real client calls and emails; her Klasna contract bars approaching Klasna's families. Write Dana's first-target row (3–5 sentences): her niche described by need and situation, how many students she needs and why, the main reason it fits her, one risk, and whom she says no to. > **Key ideas** > > - A niche is a narrow segment with a specific need that you can serve unusually well; it still has rivals and risks. > - For one person, size the niche from hours: free slots → students → conversations needed. Narrow is fine if it's reachable. > - Describe it by need and situation (work calls, IT, evenings), never by age-and-gender brackets. > - Choose it for fit: hours that match, people who vouch for you, a method built on their real tasks. > - Keep a short "not for me" list with a reason for each no: contract rules, niche boundaries, hours. > - Write the risk and a review date next to the choice. **Alex Tutor:** Back to Klasna next: you'll score its segments with real numbers and pick the lead segment for 2027. - Previous lesson: [Attractiveness and ability to win](https://productovi.com/courses/marketing-strategy/attractiveness-and-ability-to-win.md) - Next lesson: [Case: Klasna's lead segment for 2027](https://productovi.com/courses/marketing-strategy/lead-segment-for-2027-case.md) --- Productovi Learning. Free, no sign-up needed to read.