We’ve all been there—staring at a blank screen or an empty project file, trying to calculate what the "market" wants.
We look at what is trending on TikTok, what is selling on Gumroad, or what our favorite creators are making.
We try to reverse-engineer success by mimicking others.
But that logic is flawed.
When you start by trying to please everyone else, you usually end up pleasing no one—least of all yourself.
You become the artist making music in a genre you hate, the filmmaker shooting products when you crave the outdoors, or the developer building a "safe" app that bores you to tears.
Creative success starts with an audience of one.
If you aren’t moved by what you’re making, why should anyone else be?
Real fulfillment—and sustainable entrepreneurship—begins when you stop performing and start pursuing what actually lights you up.
Explore your curiosity in public
The most effective way to find your niche is to stop looking for one and start following your interests.
We often treat our passions like state secrets, waiting until we have a "perfect" product before sharing it with the world.
But in the modern economy, your curiosity is your greatest marketing asset—it’s the good stuff.
Take stock of what you actually care about when no one is watching.
What are the topics you can’t stop reading about?
What are the problems you solve for fun?
Start making things about those things.
When you share your interests in public, you become a beacon for like-minded people.
The internet is a massive place, and I guarantee that if you find a concept fascinating, there are thousands of others who do too.
This is how you uncover the overlap between your personal interests and what the market wants.
You don't find your tribe by fitting in—you find them by standing out and being specific about what you love.
Shorten your timeline to find your lane
One of the biggest traps for creators and entrepreneurs is the "forever" mindset.
We paralyze ourselves by trying to decide what we want to do for the next thirty years.
We think our first business, our first song, or our first newsletter has to be the one we retire on.
It doesn't.
In fact, it almost certainly won't be.
It is much smarter to focus on what excites you right now.
Think about the next thirty days, not the next thirty years.
You are allowed to evolve.
Your interests will shift, the market will change, and your skills will sharpen.
There is no sense in trying to predict a future version of yourself that doesn't exist yet.
By shortening your timeline, you lower the stakes and increase your output.
You move from ideating to executing.
When you focus on today's curiosity, you build the momentum necessary to carry you through the inevitable grind of building a business.
Start with what you like now, and give yourself the space to change along the way.
Putting it all together
The market should certainly have a say in what you do, but it shouldn't have the only say.
While you have to listen to feedback to find product-market fit, that feedback is useless if it’s based on work you don't care about.
People have a built-in "cringe" detector—they can tell when someone’s heart isn't in their work.
The internet is already littered with people trying to flip courses and products just to make a quick buck, and while these "snake oil" tactics might work in the short term, they rarely build brand equity.
Real authority comes from the convergence of talent, interest, and a genuine desire to help others.
When your passion and your product lie in the same place, you don't have to sell nearly as hard.
Your enthusiasm becomes your brand.
Focus on the process, enjoy the exploration, and solve problems for people who share your values.
That isn't just a path to making money—it’s the only real path to a career that feels like a gift rather than a chore.